Nightmare
by Beloved Shadow of Light
Summary: Bumblebee didn't think his teammates hated him so much, but was Starscream right? Was he really a worthless glitch not worth anybot's time? All he ever wanted was to prove himself and show them all. Why was a Decepticon the only one willing to tell him the truth? What was this strange sensation in his spark?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Transformers: Animated, it is owned by its rightful company (I wish I was on said stock holders). This story is purely fiction and was written as such. And the plot was actually based from a comic from a hell of a talented artist on deviant art called JazztheTiger. Go check out her stuff!

 **Warnings:** Before you read any further, I would like to point out this story has been rated 'M' for a reason. There is heavy mention of abortion and if this offends you, I ask you kindly leave now. This story does not reflect my persona views on the matter, nor do I wish to discuss it any further. More warnings will be placed as the story progresses (IF the story progresses).

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Original Plot/Inspiration by: JazztheTiger

The evening was serene; most of the citizens of Detroit were sleeping, the hustle and bustle of the Robotic City quiet and peaceful, not even the wailing of a police siren was audible. Far along the outskirts of the city sat the abandoned automobile manufacturing plant, but even the occupants inside were deep in sleep as well.

A figure in one of the "rooms" shifted in his sleep, the blanket pulled up to his neck. His vents cycled air quietly, optics off-lined, but while from an outside appearance he appeared to be in peaceful recharge his processor was replaying memory clips. The figure shifted but only slightly, slipping even deeper into recharge and enjoying the dreams.

 _Strong servos held him easily, his own stabilizers wrapped around his waist firmly, his engine purred as the mech holding him continued to kiss him, glossia twined around his own. His servos clutched at his helm, vents hitching as the large servos caressed metal platings, slipping beneath them and rubbed at the sensitive wires. His system was starting to overheat, he could feel it in the other mech as well but before it could go any farther they pulled apart. He knew this was wrong, this relationship was never supposed to happen, but it had and he didn't want it to stop._

 _"_ _Starscream…" he breathed out, servos sliding from his helm to his shoulder plates._

 _He smirked, pressing their helms together, gazing into his soft blue optics. "I have something for you," he said quietly, brushing his servos along the wires, his smirk growing when the mech shifted against him, engine purring louder. But he lowered him down, setting him on his peds before pulling back. "I'll be right back, wait here." Without waiting for an answer he turned and took to the air, thrusters sending him flying. Neither of them ever noticed a pair of optics watching from the forest surrounding them, focusing jealousy and anger on the yellow mech._

 _Bumblebee smiled softly as he watched his lover fly off, wondering what the surprise could be but he had his own surprise to tell him as well. This was a dangerous and risky thing he was doing, and yet he wanted to continue this for as long as he could. Would it be so wrong to just be selfish and finally have something he had always wanted? He was taken from his daydream when he heard rustling in the bushes and turned but it was a clicking vocalization that made his entire body stiffen._

 _"_ _Bumblebot does not deserve such happiness…" it hissed angrily, the rustling growing louder until a large green form with red-purple wings emerged, wings bussing angrily as it stalked the yellow mech. Its cruel reddish-optics glared at the scout with such venom, the words stung as though they were made of acid. "Not when he ruined Wasp's life!"_

 _"_ _Waspinator…" he breathed, trying to get his body to move, to get his peds to run far from here, even to transform but he felt as though he was in full stasis. He couldn't even get his processor to send out a distress signal to Starscream. The techno-organic looked huge, bigger than Megatron and even more terrifying as he stalked towards him._

 _"_ _It's time to ruin Bumblebot's life," he hissed and swiftly brought his clawed servo up, catching the unsuspecting mech in the face, helm snapping back with a painful shout. He watched as he fell back onto his back, stunned but he wasn't going to give him a chance to escape as he crawled over him, his wings folding back. He relished in the fear of his enemy/prey, the pink-lavender liquid seeping from the claw marks across his face oozing slightly. There was fear in his blue optics, and he relished in it as he loomed over him, but he wasn't going to outright kill this bumbler. Oh no, that would be too easy. Too quick. "Starting…" His claw reached out, trailing over his faceplates, down his chassis, brushing over the protruding protoflesh just beneath. "… with this."_

 _Bumblebee's optics widen and he could feel an icy fill rapidly fill every cable in his body. The sparkling was growing more with each passing cycle, but it would be several orbital cycles before it was ready to be brought into the world. He cringed when Waspinator trailed a single claw over the sensitive mesh plating, realization hitting his processor as the icy feeling grew._

"No…"

A silent plea escaped the quiet room, barely making it out into the hall. This late in the evening no one would have heard the barely audible cry. But one mech was pulled from his meditation, helm tilted silently, listening intently. Had he misheard the cry?

 _"_ _No! Please!" Bumblebee begged, clutching at the sharp servos as they gripped the protoflesh none-too-gently. But the larger bot ignored his cries, in fact he seemed to relish in it and pressed the struggling mech into the soft ground. Grabbing his failing servos he held them roughly in his other large servo, not the least bit worried that the small Autobot could stop him but it was annoying. He continued to lightly trace the pliable flesh with a single claw, pressing in harder with each stroke._

"Stop!"

The cry was louder, fearful, begging. He was not imagining it but who was awake at this hour? Who was calling out for help?

"Please don't take it!"

Prowl usually considered himself a bot of patience, preferring to think before he acted, even during these warring times, but he was out of his room, heading for the source of the cry before his processor could process what was being shouted, or why no one else heard the plea.

 _"_ _Please! St-AAAAAHH!" The tip of the claw dug into the protoflesh, more of the pink-purplish energon spilling as the claw slowly tore a long slit across the large bump. Waspinator ignored the futile struggles of the carrier, the way he continued to arch and shy away from him, trying to pull his servos free from his tightening grip. He gritted his dental together, pain receptors going critical as he felt those same claws slipping beneath the bleeding "skin", digging inside, purposely scratching his insides. "Nnnngh!" Bee couldn't help but whimper, body arching as he felt the servo wrapped around the tiny form inside._

Prowl pressed himself along the wall, listening to the pained sounds. His shuriken held carefully between his servos, ready to be thrown as soon as he located the threat. He was surprised and confused when he peered into his teammate's room, no visible threat but the canary yellow scout was in the throes of a terrible defrag, or "nightmare" as the humans called it, body arching as his servos clutched at his berth tightly.

 _Waspinator smirked cruelly as he slowly began to draw his fist out, ignoring the energon that covered his servo. The sparkling was small, a tiny thing with the beginning of wing nubs on its back, a future seeker, some of its inner circuits and wires still visible, optics completely closed, not quite ready for the world. He caught the bot's optics and grinned, watching the fear in them grow as he began to tighten his servo around the helpless form, feeling the too soft protoflesh begin to give into the pressure._

 _"_ _NO!"_

"Bumblebee!" Servos grasped his shoulder plates, shaking them in hopes that the scout would awaken. He did with a loud scream, bolting into a sitting position. Prowl was surprised no one came running at the cry but perhaps it would be for the best. He watched with concern as the scout panted heavily for air, his vents whirling rapidly, he didn't seem to notice he was there as he quietly sat on the edge of his berth, reaching out to lightly rest his servo on his knee and the other stroking his back plating in what he hoped was a comforting and calming gesture. "Calm down… it was just a dream," he said calmly, watching him with a great deal of concern.

Bumblebee couldn't get the image out of his processor, his sparkling held in Waspinator's servo, watching as the digits began to tighten, seeing the cruel look on his faceplates as he screamed for him to stop, being weak and powerless to stop him. He shuddered his optics a few times, aware that his vents were working on high but he looked to the side and noticed the ninja-bot was trying to get him to calm down. He wanted to question what he was doing, why he was here, instead he turned and drew himself against his chassis with a weak cry.

"… Prowl." He couldn't help it, he tried to be strong, but the nightmare still had their claws in him and his processor refused to let him go anytime soon. He shut his optics as tightly as he could, ktching sounds escaping his frame but there was nothing he could do to stop them. Nor could he stop the almost violent tremors as the Cyber-Ninja wrapped his servos around him, holding him close instead of pushing him away or demanding an explanation.

"Please don- *ktch* … Don't let them take it!" he begged him, burying his faceplates into his black and gold trimmed chassis he tried to forgot the nightmare but the image was so haunting he let out a low whimper, clinging to the other bot even tighter.

Servos never stopped as they gently and calmly stroked warm plates, listening to his fans clicking off one by one. He had never seen the scout in such a stake, even after countless battles with the Decepticons and facing Megatron he had never seen him this shaken up. But as his hitching began to slow down his processor went over the words he had just said—no, words he was begging of him.

"… take what?" The only answer he received was a quiet whimper of fear. Instead of pressing for an answer he drew the scout even further into his embrace, tightening his servos around him as he pulled the sheet up to wrap around him. It didn't take long for bumblebee to drift to sleep but when Prowl made to get up and leave him to rest he clung to him, or cried out for his nightmares to stop. Venting softly he continued to hold the scout to his chassis, his body curled between his stabilizers. Leaning his head back against the wall he off-lined his optics, falling back into a light meditated state he never noticed as Bumblebee's servo wordlessly drift down to his stomach plating, digits protectively stroking the slight bulge that was growing.

 **Author's Notes:** If you're reading this, then I hope you took my warning at the beginning to heart. Again I was inspired to write this about reading a comic of the same title by the artist JazztheTiger. I have never written anything like this, but if I want to grow as a writer I need to branch out.

I also mentioned earlier that I may or may not continue this. I actually have a story in mind, so if I continue this I will be posting warning of certain chapters. So, please tell me what you think but please no flames or comments about how sick I am. I gave a warning in the beginning, and I was also raised that if you have nothing nice to say you don't say it at all.

 **To JazztheTiger,** I am a big fan of your stuff and I wish I could draw as well as you! I hope you like this ^^


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** I have decided to continue the story and see where it takes me. As such, I would like to point out several terms I will be using when it comes to duration of time but I'll be posting these up on all the chapters so you, the reader, don't have to repeatedly go back and forth to understand what a megacycle is. Enjoy and let me know your thoughts in a review! Unless it's nothing nice, then please keep it to yourself.

Cybertron Units of Time = Earth Units of Time

Nanoklik = 1 second

Cycle = 1.5 minutes (100 nanokliks)

Breem = 8.3 minutes

Megacycle = 2.6 hours (100 cycles)

Solar Cycle = 1 day (10 megacycles)

Deca-Cycle = 10 days (10 solar cycles)

Orbital Cycle = 1 month (32 solar cycles)

Stellar Cycle = 1 year (320 solar cycles)

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

 _Few orbital cycles prior…_

Without opening his optic the autobot scout knew something was wrong. Sure it could do with the fact that his processor was all over the place, his pain sensors were on high, his servos were aching something fierce, and he felt as though some of his systems had been hacked and disabled/locked down.

 _'What the frag happened?'_ was running through his processor but even so he tried rebooting his system. As his optics came online he took notice of his location; he appeared to be in some abandoned building, either a factory or maybe a lab but he couldn't tell for sure. It was too dark to see, what he assumed to be windows were boarded up, and as far as he knew he was alone. Venting softly he looked down at his frame he realized his peds were barely touching the ground and he appeared to be hanging from something. He tried twisting his servos when he heard the sounds of chains clanking together, forcing him to look up and realize that he had been bound with a thick chain and was hanging from a hook. Frowning he continued to tug at them, maybe swing his stabilizers up and free himself but a warning flashed before his optics.

 **-Warning: energy levels below 40%-**

 _'Wait, what? But I was at 90% earlier—wait, how long was I out for?'_ His chronometer showed he had been offline for several megacycles, but as his systems finished rebooting it alerted him to a new memory video. Frowning he played it and let out some rather choice words, servos shaking angrily.

He was doing a routine patrol around Detroit when he had gotten a communication message that said an AllSpark fragment had been located and it was close to his location. Naturally the scout offered to get it, ignoring the order to wait for back up as he sped to the location. It was at an old building several stories tall that was scheduled to be demolished first thing the following morning but there were no humans round.

 _'Must be on an oil break,'_ he mused, scanning the area just to be sure. No sign of anybot, and certainly no sign of any Decepticons in the area. He knew he should report back his findings, to wait for back up just in case, but he was tired of everyone treating like a sparkling who didn't know any better. Transforming he entered the building and began to look around.

The building was old, the floors creaking under his weight, a fine layer of dust coated everything but his scans were picking up the fragment at the top floor. Locating the stirs he carefully climbed them (nearly falling through twice when his ped got stuck) but he finally arrived. The floor didn't seem quite as rotten as below but there was a lot of junk and sheets covering a lot of stuff. Bee wouldn't admit it, but with the sun beginning to go down and the windows boarded up, the dying lights were casting some scary looking shadows. But he activated stingers, holding them out as he began to search for the fragment. He carefully moved around the floor, entering a large room but it was so dark he was having difficulty making out anything. He activated his headlights and vented as he stared at the piles of boxes, broken items, and large sheets covering most of it. It seemed that this floor had the most junk of the entire building.

"Oh sure! The fragment couldn't be in an empty room! Or better yet, on the first floor or out in the open!" He mumbled to himself. But if he could find it and bring it back, well then everyone would certainly have to treat him like a real autobot and not some sparkling! "Yeah, yeah I'll do that!" he said and began looking. He ripped a sheet off and felt his vents immediately get clogged with a large cloud of dust he had kicked up, causing him to back up. It took several nanokliks to clear his vents, trying not to stir up any more dust before he decided to just seal them and move slowly.

Oh he hated moving slow, he wanted to be done with this stupid search and back to the warehouse! But he peered through the junk, resisting the urge to cycle air least he wanted to cause his vents to get clogged with dust again. It didn't help that the longer he kept his headlights on the faster he was using up his power. Venting in frustration (and spending another several nanokliks clearing his vents out), he moved deeper into the room, turning his headlights off and used what little light he could see through the gaps in the boarded windows. For some reason though his scanner was given him a lot of static as was his comm link.

 ** _"zzzz-bum-zzzz-bee-zzz-'ou there?-zzzz-come in-zzzz"_**

"Boss bot? That you?" He frowned as he held a servo to his audio receiver, moving around in hopes that the static would clear. "I didn't get that, there's too much static."

 ** _"Bum-zzzz-'ee-zzzz-can-zzzz-ear-zzzz-e?"_**

"Boss! Optimus!" Nothing but a lot of static on both ends. "Slag it!" he cursed, kicking a pile of trash only to kick up more dust from before, causing him to stumble back until his stabilizers hit something and he fell onto his aft. His vents stalled, trying to clear out the dust but he just continued sitting where he had landed, upset and disappointed. "So much for showing them," he muttered, crossing her servos over his chassis, shutting his optics for a bit as he slouched back into the pile of trash he was sitting on. "My scanner said there was an AllSpark here, but all I've found is junk and dust. Lots and lots of dust." It made no sense; maybe his sensor had a glitch or something? Well, he could give it one more look and if that failed, he'd just leave. Once more he ran a scan, letting it run over the entire building but his frame straighten as it said the fragment was in the building, what's more, he was right on top of it. Realization hit him too late as servos emerged from the sheet he had been sitting on, wrapping around his frame tightly, pinning his servos at his sides.

"Surprise, autobot!" Starscream cackled as he stood to his full height. He would never mention it even under torture but he had qualms about his plan not succeeding. But there was something to be said about Unicron favoring fools at their lowest (he was no fool, mind you) and he even managed to capture the smallest of the Autobots!

"Lemme go!" Bumblebee shouted, struggling as hard as he could, trying to get him to loosen his grip though he winced when those clawed digits scratched at his armor, some of them catching in the seams and prodding at the sensitive protoflesh beneath. He began to send out a distress signal but stopped; instead he sent the internal command to activate his energy stingers. They provided a little bit of light but he didn't care as he brought them up as much as he could and sent powerful bolts of electricity into the seeker's arms. He managed to suppress his own yelp of pain as the current also ran into him but it had the desired effect as he was quickly released. Landing on his peds he didn't waste any time and turned, ramming both of them just beneath his cock pit.

Thanks to the AllSpark fragment the former second-in-command was immortal, but he could still feel pain just as another other bot. Once more his systems were overcharged by the current racing through him, multiple errors flashing across his HUD. The next thing he knew he crashed into a pile of trash, part of his armor smoking. It took him a klik to bring his systems online and he growled as he narrowed his optics at the scowling scout.

"I will make you suffer for that!" he shouted, immediately lifting his arms he began opening fire on the yellow bot.

Soon as he saw him move he began moving himself, letting the wheels drop down he easily zipped out of the line of fire. Or rather, that would have been the plan if he hadn't forgotten about the thick piles of trash everywhere. And it was still too damn dark to really make anything out. He was clearly at a disadvantage here but so was Starscream. He could still beat him!

"What's the matter, 'Screamer, can't take down a minibot?" he taunted, speeding past him as he ducked gunfire only to yelp as his stabilizers ran into a pile of trash that he swore moved in front of him and landed with a painful thunk on his faceplates. _'Slag it! That hurt!'_

"You were saying, autobot?" he smirked, leveling his guns at him. His plan was to take him operational but there was nothing wrong about beating him for a bit. His optics blinked when he heard the sound of something creaking and glanced around as did the scout. He also felt that the floor beneath his peds seemed to be dipping ever so slightly. That's when his processor decided to remind him about the current state of the building. "Frag it."

The sound of splintering wood was abnormally loud in the abandoned building, due to a combination of termites, age, weather, and no proper maintenance the wood was weak to begin with but when the two transformers began running around, firing at each other, the floor couldn't take the weight anymore and gave out. There was a sudden yelp as both bots fell through the floor with the trash, even crashing through the follow floor beneath but the next one held them. It creaked like the others but it was holding their combined weight—for now.

The yellow scout tried to clear his vents that had gotten clogged with dirt and dust, pushing himself to his peds though he did sway a bit as his gyro-inhibitor sensors tried to repair themselves. It usually only took a couple of kliks but he didn't have such precious time to waste.

The sound of engine thrusters revving up was heard but the seeker tackled the scout hard, flying him through some of the building's rotten walls until he slammed him against a stronger wall, servo wrapped tightly around his neck cables. Just like the scout he was also filthy but he had managed to use his own jets to slow his descend a bit so he didn't need nearly as much time to reorient himself. Smirking at his dazed prey he leaned in close even as he pressed his gun into his stomach plates, letting it warm up.

"Seems I have the upper hand now, autobrat," he sneered. "Any last words before I destroy you?"

"F-Frag you!" Not the best choice of words as the digits around his neck tightened, pressing into sensitive cables and wires but he wasn't going to give this Deceptiscum the satisfaction of hearing him beg for mercy!

"So feisty… it makes me wonder why those glitches continue to keep you around." For a fraction of a nanoklik those blue optics widen and he could see a look of shock and fear, but not from him. He leaned in even closer, peering into his optics. When he tried to look away he boldly slammed him into the wall once more, listening to him cry out in pain. "Answer me this, autobot… why does your team continue to keep you around? You may be quick but the way you fight seems to bring your team more harm than good, so what good are you to them? Hmm?"

Wasn't that the billion dollar question. He asked himself that same question after he was reprimanded for something he did or when a prank went off. The way everyone got after him he was surprised he wasn't send to Cybertron. But, why in the Pitt did he have to tell this-this traitor anything? "None of your business!" he snapped. Ignoring the servo around his neck and his gun pressing none too gently into his side, he activated his stingers and lashed out. Even as he was let go he went on the offensive this time, striking him repeatedly as anger took over his processor. "My team needs me! I'm useful to them! They're my friends!"

He knew he had hit a sensory nerve the way he was coming at him, some of his strikes were now missing their intended target and it only grew when he activated his thrusters, flying out of the room. He heard the scout chase after him, cursing up quite a storm but he smirked. Listening to him stop he landed several feet away, holding both guns out in case he thought to open fire at him. He was venting heavily, his fans cycling air rapidly, but aside from the anger in his optics he could also see a look of uncertainty. He couldn't help but taunt him once more.

"Aww! Did I hurt the little autobrat's feelings?" he asked in a mocking tone, chuckling as he watched him go tense.

"Don't. Call. Me. LITTLE!" he shouted angrily, charging his stingers he quickly brought them up, ready to open fire but there was a loud crack and the floor split open right beneath his peds. With a startled yelp Bumblebee fell through the floor but as he fell he let loose the charge of his weapons. The charge not only completely missed its intended target, it blew up the roof of the building. The structure couldn't take it anymore and slowly began to cave in on itself. Unfortunately the scout fell through the remaining floors, hitting the ground floor with another hard thunk but the last thing he remembered seeing was the rest of the building come crashing down atop of him. It was enough that he was knocked off-lined.

As the end of the memory clip finished the scout felt a mix of emotions racing through him: anger, shame, embarrassment to name a few. Well, this was a first, he was a prisoner of Starscream who no doubt disabled many of his features so not only could he not call for help or send a distress signal, he couldn't activate his stingers and break free. Not only that, he couldn't run the most basic scan to see just how badly damaged he had been hurt when the building collapsed on him.

 _'Yeah, sure Prowl would rub it in, saying that I need to slow down.'_ Just thinking about the Cyber Ninja made him feel angry and sadden. He cringed when another warning popped up on his HUD to show that he was now at 22%. If it fell any lower he was going to go into stasis lock and then he really would be helpless against the Decepticon.

"… slag it." He closed his optics as he let them go off-line, trying to preserve what bit of power he had remaining. He never realized that he hadn't been alone as he thought.

The seeker was quiet as he slowly made his way to where the scout was hanging like a prized trophy. He didn't think the rusty chains would have been able to hold the scout but while they were not stasis cuffs they were good enough for now. He slowly walked around his prone form, taking in his bulky armor as well as the dark protoflesh that was revealed. No doubt if he were to remove his armor plating this minibot would be even smaller. Stopping before him he reached out and lightly grasped his chin in his servo, gazing intently at his faceplates.

 _'Such a pretty looking bot… I wonder if that's the reason your precious team continues to keep you around,'_ he mused and chuckled darkly as he realized another way to torture the scout for information. It would take some time but he had nothing but time at the moment.

* * *

A soft groan escaped his lips as his optics slowly came online. For a moment, the yellow scout was confused as to where he was and why his servos were aching but when he tried to pull them the chains made a clanking sound he froze and vented softly.

 _'Oh, right. I got captured by Starscream of all mechs.'_ Well, it could've been worse. It coulda been Megatron. He blinked at himself for a klik. Would being in Megatron's servos be better than this nimrod? He wasn't sure anymore as he ran an internal system check.

His self-repair system finished with some minor injuries he was sustained during the fight but everything was still deactivated. Still, he tried to send a communication link out but there was nothing but dead static. Still blocked. His chronometer read he had been off-lined for a few megacycles, and his power level was now at 69% but he wasn't able to do much except hang there.

His optics shuddered when his system said that his personal files had been looked at. They were old clips from past conversations with his team but why would a message be popping up about them? Unless… that glitch of a slag hacked into him while he was out!

"Next time I see him I'm gonna-!" he fumed, twisting his servos in the chains, ignoring his pain sensors as he spun in place for a bit, his peds kicking at the air.

"You're going to what, autobot?" Well speak of the Pitt-spawned glitch himself. Starscream smirked as he slowly came out of the shadows, smirking with his servos crossed over his chassis.

"You!" Swinging forward he tried to reach out even if it was to kick him but he cursed when he realized he was too short to do anything but it didn't stop him from trying. "You hacked my processor! I'm gonna kick your aft from here to Cybertron and back!"

The seeker continued smirking, listening to his empty threats and watched as he struggled. His optics trailed up and down his body as he swung back and forth before he finally stopped, venting air heavily but the look of anger in his optics made them a lovely shade of blue. He just continued to watch him, saying nothing. He had the satisfaction of watching the anger fade away to wariness and suspicion then to a small hint of fear. Now he would have no choice but to stand there and listen.

"You and I are a lot alike, Bumblebee," he smirked.

Okay, that was not what he expected him to say in the least! "Have you fried your circuits? We're nothing alike," he snapped.

"Really? We're both proud, brave soldiers, we're both the fastest in our groups, we're both taken for granted, and we don't get nearly enough recognition for our actions."

"Yeah! Well... I don't try to offline my boss every nanoklik of each solar cycle!"

"But you agree with everything else?" he smirked at the silence. "I'm not hearing otherwise."

 _'Frag!'_ This was just another trick to get him to reveal some secret the autobots had, some sort of intel, but his processor was replaying his words on repeat. Was he right? Were they taking him for granted?

"You're wrong... Optimus and the others, they rely on me! We're a team! And nothing you say is gonna change that, Decepticreep!"

"Really? Then why don't we just listen to what your precious team really thinks of you, shall we?" With a smirk he withdrew a data cube and pressing one side, held it out as it immediately began to play several clips, each one showing one of his teammates but what they were saying seemed to crush at his spark one by one.

"Slag it all! When is that glitch gonna start taking this seriously?!" Ratchet said angrily. "If he'd listen to orders I wouldn't have to waste so much time pounding out dents! He's nothing but trouble!"

"B-But Ratchet is like that with everybot. He's never happy," he argued but his words had stung. Did he really think he was a glitch?

"He doesn't realize speed is not everything. He's too impatient and more than once it has affected not only him but the team as a whole," Prowl vented heavily, as though having repeated himself recently. "He doesn't seem to care that his reckless behavior will have us all visiting the Well of AllSparks and no doubt refuse to take responsibility."

"Not everyone can be a failed cyber ninja," he muttered bitterly. Sure he kinda went a bit overboard during some missions but he had never put anyone in danger intentionally! They woulda told him, he woulda listened! Right?

"Aw come on, Bumblebee is a good bot! He just likes to do things his own way," Bulkhead said. The scout perked up, knowing that his best friend would never say anything mean about him even behind his back! "But he's kinda a showoff, racing on ahead, never really looking where he's going. I mean, he nearly ran over Sari a few times and never apologized for it."

"N... no... I didn't..." Well, he was used to getting yelled at for being reckless, but he would never hurt Sari. He would gladly lay down his spark to protect her!

"Bumblebee could be more if he just applied himself. I've lost track of how many times I told him we need to work as a team but it appears to go right through one audio receiver and immediately out the other one," Optimus sighed, digits pressed to his helm as though he was suffering from a processor ache. "I've thought of sending him back to Cybertron but I'm certain they'll tell me he's my responsibility."

"Boss bot…" Did he really want him to go back home? He didn't have anyone back there; all his friends were here on Earth. Or, could he even call them his friends? His spark clenched tightly in his chassis, he couldn't help but let out a keening sound of distress. Was that what they really thought about him?

"Sometimes I wish I had never met him."

That had been the final screw as the data cube showed Sari looking depressed as she said those words. He couldn't believe it but the proof was right there in front of him. He shook his helm, refusing to believe it but he couldn't run away and when he tried to turn off his audio receivers he found he couldn't. They had been locked into their current setting and he couldn't override the lock.

"The truth hurts. It would appear your team doesn't hold you in such high regard," Starscream said even as he placed the cube on a box, letting it repeat the video clips on a continuous loop. Watching him just in case he moved before him, reaching out to grasp his chin in his servo and forcing him to look up at him. His optics were darker and now he could see broken trust, rejection, and loneliness. He was slowly breaking down from the inside. It would take some more time but the end result would be worth it. "You may refuse to believe me but we are much more alike than you could dream of, little Bee."

He cringed, shutting his optics tightly even as soft ktching sounds escaped his frame. He couldn't cry like he had seen Sari and other organics do, but it didn't stop his body from falling into despair as he kept hearing those same words being repeated over and over. His digits clenched tightly but he didn't have the strength for anything except to hang there and accept the truth. "… why…"

"What was that? I didn't quite hear you." Everything was slowly falling into place one klik at a time.

"… why, are you show- *ktch* showing me this?" he asked, slowly opening his optics and looking up at him pleadingly.

"… everybot should know their worth to the team, don't you think?" Brushing a digit over his lips he pulled back and began walking away. "I'll come back later; I'm sure you have a lot to think about." Chuckling he allowed the shadows to swallow him, leaving the scout alone.

Blue optics widen, lips parting, wanting to shout at him to come back and take this lying data cube away from him but instead he let his frame go limp and listened to those hateful words wash over him like a blanket of despair. Dental bit down on his lip plate but he didn't register the pain as sobs continued to rack his small frame, feeling the ache in his spark grow by leaps and bounds.

 _'I… I'm a worthless glitch…'_ he thought to himself numbly.

~ To be continued… ~

 **Author's notes:** Starscream can be quit the manipulative bastard when he stoops and thinks about his plans a bit more thorough. The story pretty much takes place after the episode "Mission Accomplished" which means he still has the AllSpark fragment in his head. But, he has yet to create his clones so in a sense this is before "A Fistful of Energon" as well. Hmm, I guess in a way it kinda boosted his processor or something to make him think of a successful plan.

Starscream: How dare you! I have you know I was once a great scientist on Cybertron!

Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that, 'Screamer.

Starscream: Don't call me that!

But it suits you! (cheesy grin) Anyway next chapter will reveal just what 'Screamer is up to and what he plans to do with our unfortunately little scout, 'Bee.

Bumblebee: I'm not little! I'm a minibot!

Potato, potatoe! Same thing!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** Here we are onto chapter three! Wow, two chapter in one week, I'm on a roll! Well, gonna try to continue to be on a roll anyway. I'll make this short and sweet but I would like to point out this chapter is smut related. However, due to 's strict ban on anything with explicit material I will not be posting the smut here. Sorry but I rather not get banned or take my chances of it. So, I will let you know where to find the smutty filled chapter when I get the chance. Enjoy!

Cybertron Units of Time = Earth Units of Time

Nanoklik = 1 second

Cycle = 1.5 minutes (100 nanokliks)

Breem = 8.3 minutes

Megacycle = 2.6 hours (100 cycles)

Solar Cycle = 1 day (10 megacycles)

Deca-Cycle = 10 days (10 solar cycles)

Orbital Cycle = 1 month (32 solar cycles)

Stellar Cycle = 1 year (320 solar cycles)

 **!WARNING!**

 **This chapter contains mention of sexual abuse (touching) as well psychological trauma. If you do not want to read this, then I advise you not to continue. If you still want to read the chapter then it is by your own choice. This story has been rated M for a reason. I would also like to say I do not condone acts of sexual violence, and to remind you—the reader—that this is purely fictional.**

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

It had been half a solar cycle since the Earth-based team lost contact with their scout and despite searching the remains of the building of his last location he was no where to be seen. Repeated attempts were made in contacting him through his communication link but all they received was static, and his GPS was off-line as well.

They had no way to track him and with each passing nanoklik that passed by was making them more and more anxious.

Optimus Prime frowned as he drove through the streets of Detroit. Night had fallen and traffic was light but even as he quietly drove up and down the streets he was running all scans he could think of, hoping that something would show up. So far there was nothing popping up but it was taking all he had not to just tear into the first building and search for the scout.

' _Bumblebee is fine. He's a good soldier, he's fine,'_ he kept telling himself but deep down in his spark he had a very bad feeling. Hearing a horn blaring to his left he pulled into his lane and watched as an angry human sped past him. He pulled off the highway, taking an access road and pulled into the parking lot of a fast food resturant. Air cycled through his vents heavily, engine cutting off. Primus, help him. Where could the yellow scout be?

" _ **Optimus, come in."**_

"Optimus here. Has anything showed up yet, Ratchet?"

" _ **Nothing. Not so much as a blip."**_

' _Slag it.'_ He wan't prone to cursing but he really didn't care right now and he had heard the old veteran mutter worse curses when he was upset. "Autobots, report. What's your current status?"

" _ **Prowl, reporting in. I've checked the South and East parts of the city but I have been unable to find any sign of Bumblebee."**_

" _ **Bulkhead, here. I've checked all his usual spots three times already but there hasn't been any sign of him. I even drove by Sari's place but she hasn't heard anything from him either."**_

The urge to curse was even louder but instead his engine revived angrily, startling a few humans who were making their way to their own vehicles, giving him a curious look. "Report back to the warehouse but keep your scanners running. Report anything unusal." Hearing confirmations he continued to sit there, knowing that Ratchet was still there but keeping quiet.

"… _**Optimus, I have a theory but I don't think it's gonna be any better."**_

"I'm listening."

" _ **Earlier our scanners picked up the signature of an AllSpark fragment close to Bee's locations, and we lost contact with him when he arrived. But when we arrived he didn't pick up anything at all, as though the fragment was never there to begin with."**_

"You're saying this was a trap."

" _ **Think about it, who do we know who has a fragment and has a grudge against us? And I can tell ya it wasn't Megatron."**_ That left only one another bot who could be behind this.

"Starscream."

" _ **Been scanning the air but not a single blip. You'll be the first to know if anything shows up."**_

"Thanks Ratchet. Optimus, out." Closing the link he vented even as he pulled himself into drive and headed out of the parking lot, merging with the light traffic. His worries grew even more when he realized the scout was in the servos of a psychotic Decepticon, but his anger was also amplified at the fact that Cybertron's own Elite Guard was at fault.

' _If anything happens to Bumblebee, they will_ all _pay.'_ The thought burned into his processor but it was a slow burn as he took the road back to their base. For now, he would hope for the best.

* * *

Starscream was surprised the data cube had worked as well as it did but during these warring times he forgot he hadn't always been a soldier. No, he had once been a great scientist but those glitches in the High Council could never appreciate his genius. For that matter neither did Megatron but that was beside the point.

' _As long as he believes what I had showed him to be real, then my plan will be fool proof,'_ he smirked to himself as he watched the scout from the shadows. The data cube was still playing and he could see how the Autobot was shuddering, optics shut tightly. He could also see that he had bitten though his lip-plate hard enough to cause some energon to spill. He found himself staring at his mouth far longer than he intented before shaking himself out of it. He still had his plan to see through to the end.

' _Make it stop… Please Primus, I… I_ know _I'm a worthless glitch…'_ he repeated to himself over and over. He couldn't recharge at all, ignoring his warning systems about low energy levels but everytime he slipped into recharge his processor was haunted by defrags of his friends-his team, calling him out on all his faults. Each insult was more painful than the last, and it wasn't just them, it also drew up painful memory clips when he was at the Autobot Training Camp, and sparklinghood. Videoes he had sworn he would never play. That was his past and he wanted to forget about it. He suppressed a whimper, servos aching but any type of pain was a welcome distraction however brief from the dark images running through his processor. _'… just… make it stop …'_

Aburptly the voices did stop, well physically they stopped, but they were still running on a continuous loop in his processor. He heard the chains clank softly and sagged in them, realizing he had been lowered enough that he could stand on his own peds but he hung there for a cycle or two before his stabilizers straightened, giving his servos a rest. His optics slowly opened, dim but he heard heavy peds coming towards him. He couldn't help but stiffen but he dind't have the energy to lash out at him. He flinched when he felt a servo grasp his chin, tilting his faceplates up but hissed as a digit brushed over his injuried lip.

"The truth always hurts, but I argue its better to be hurt by it then be led around blindly by lies," the seeker said quietly as he wiped the slight energon trail away. His own faceplates were void of emotion but he watched as the Autobot's optics slowly began to brighten, looking up into his own crimson gaze.

Bumblebee tried not to focus on the warm touch on his faceplates, the way his digit lightly traced his split lip; he couldn't remember the last time anyone had touched him like this, like he cared. Sure he would get the occassional pat or such from the others but this was more—intimate. His optics took in the purple Decepticon symbols on his wings and it halted the his processor. Narrowing his optics he slowly pulled back from his grip, standing just a little bit straighter.

"What do you want?" he demanded. His vocalizer didn't sound weak or shakey but he had to keep telling himself that he was still an Autobot and he had his duty to perform.

Slowly his servo withdrew only to be crossed over his chassis, regarding him calmly. "I wasn't lying when I said we were alike. Yes, I have tried on multiple occassions to eliminate Megatron, to take over leadership of the Decepticons. I have my reasons for my actions, but you… you're different from the others."

"What's that suppose to mean?" he thought back to the message that his personal files had been looked through and he forced himself not to tremble. Most of those old videoes were locked away so tightly, even if he wanted to replay them it should've take him close to a deca-cycle if not longer to get through all the locks he kept on them. This, Decepticreep, had nothing on him.

"Every battle I have seen you in you are the one always trying to prove something, either to yourself, to your team, or to both. It didn't dawn on me why you were the most ambitious of everyone, why you were so eager to charge in first, and stupid enough to think you would be the one to take down Megatron of all mechs." He noticed the way he flinched but didn't stop as he slowly walked around him. "What I want, is to make a deal with you."

"A deal? With me?" Something was not adding up but listened as he walked around, repeatedly telling himself not to show any fear. Hearing him stop behind him he turnd his helm to his direction, optics narrowed. "Why?"

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We are so much alike, I believe together we could do what those Autobots could never do. We could even possibly do something not even Megatron couldn't do." Leaning forward he smirked and whispered into his audio reciever, "We, could take over Cybertron by gathering all the AllSpark fragments ourselves."

Blue eyes widen. Take over Cybertron? "Do you have a virus in your processor?!" he shouted, twisting around to face him but what little slack the chain gave him wasn't enough for him to completely turn around yet it didn't stop him from trying. "Why would I want to take over Cybertron!? Why do you think I would wanna work with you!?"

"Who wouldn't want to work with me?" He smirked and once more reached out, gripping his chin with a servo but he held him firmly when he tried to pull away, leaning in close. "But, who wouldn't want to work with _you_? Both our teams underestimate our true potential, always putting us down so they can take the glory for themselves. Think about it, isn't there anything you want to change about Cybertron now?"

"N-No, I don't! Let go!" He struggled agasint his servo, wincing when he felt his claws scratch at his faceplates, but he ignored it as he managed to pull free. He aimed a kick at his capture, but the seeker dodged it and wrapped his servo around his throat from behind, claws resting along the main cable that allowed energon to be pumped to his processor. The other servo wrapped around his body and pulled him against a firm frame. "L-Let me go!" He tried swinging his ped back to kick his stabilizer only to growl when he continued to miss.

Starscream just chuckled and gently traced his claws along the thick cable, feeling the steady pulse flowing through. He felt the minibot freeze for a nanoklik before struggling once more, demanding to be released but he would have none of that. His other servo stroked the bared protoflesh, once more feeling him tense but he also heard his fans kicking on, his frame starting to heat up. ~Interesting…~ he mused, stroking the malleable mesh he felt the scout getting warmer. It wasn't just his protoflesh he caressed as he skimmed his digits over his armor as well, purposely tracing over the seams.

No, he couldn't be enjoying this! He couldn't! And yet, the feeling of those black clawed digits tracing over his frame, scratching his paint job, causing a delicious heat to build but his sensors were all over the place. He felt too warm, bordering on hot, his fans kicking on high in an attempt to cool down. Claw tips began to caresses his neck cables once more, the tips sliding between delicate cables and wires, brushing over his nerve sensors. Bee could feel his faceplates heating up, optics dimming in pleasure as his helm was tilted back, a claw tracing over the split lip plate he winced when it pierced the sensitive metal, allowed some of his energon to slip free.

"I can tell you're enjoying this," the seeker whispered to him lowly, gathering more energon onto his digit then pushing into into his mouth, stroking his glossia. He expected the yellow scout to struggle and try to fight him off but instead the minibot sucked at his digit, optics dimming and closing in pleasure. "Such a lovely little Bee…" he smirked, feeling his own frame heat up, fans turning on in an effort to cool himself down, wings twitching excitedly. His other servo rubbed at his chassis, tapping his clawed digits against the glass and stroking the seams. His engine rumbled as his prisoner let out another low moan, arching into his touch. The chains shook as he tried to touch him, whimpering in want but he was now pressing himself into him. It would be so easy to take him right here, right now, to enjoy the feel of this minibot on his spike, but that would ruin his plans.

"Do you want more, Bumblebee?" he purred his name, listening to him moan as he pressed down on his glossia, forcing him to open his mouth wide. Oh the images rapidly filtering through his processor made his engines rumble louder, the vibrations spreading to the bound minibot which caused him to let out a mew of pleasure.

' _Oh Primus… Sstarscream…'_ He mewed again, louder than before, pressing back into the seeker as much as he could just to feel those wonderful vibrations. His metal frame felt like it too hot, burning him but it was too good. No one had ever touched him like this before, never felt him feel so good, he didn't even care that this seeker was a 'Con!

' _Wait, this is wrong… he's a Decepticon… I'm, an Autobot… we're at war…'_ His processor fought through the haze of pleasure, trying to function clearly but he was still being touched and caressed, digits stroking his frame. This time he managed to catch himself from moaning as he felt claws reach for his lower armor and trace over the seams teasingly, as though waiting for something. He froze when he realized no matter which direction he moved, he would pull away from one and into the other. _'N-No… can't let him… Primus… t-take me, without a-a fight…'_

The ex-SIC could tell he was now trying to ignore his advances, trying to stay perfectly still but he knew he was aroused. Chuckling he leaned over and brought his faceplate to his audio reciever, watching his optics open and online softly. "I suppose, this is your answer… such a shame…" He vented softly as he slowly pulled his claw from his mouth and went back to stroking the pulsing cable in his neck. His other servo slid up from his pelvic armor and once more stroked the bared protoflesh. Now he could feel him trembling and tightened the servo around him, pulling him closer as his engines hummed softly. "I won't destroy you, autobot… I tend to get what I want. I just have to be patient…" Lifting his helm hetook note of the small horns on his helm and before he could stop himself, lightly traced one of them with his glossia.

He hadn't meant to let out such an embaressing sound, but he dind't bother to fight the sudden flush of heat on his cheekplates, optics wide in both embaressment and arousal. The seeker froze as he held onto him, silent, but after a cycle he slowly withdrew his servos from him and walked off. Bumblebee was silent, his fans slowing down until his core temperature was cool enough did they shut off but even as he strained his audios he sighed and sagged from his bound servos. Now that he was alone he was soon losing himself as his processor replayed the memories about the teasing touches the seeker had given him, the way his claws traced over the transformation seams, teasing the sensitive wires he found. He knew he had some scratches on him but the slight pain had been quickly taken over by the building heat. His fan kicked back on when his core temperature rose but he dind't care, soft moans escaping his mouth as he thought back to the way his clawed digit rubbed agsint his glossia, trembling when he realized he had sucked on it like some sort of treat.

'Gotta- gotta, calm down…' he thought wearily but he wasn't trying that hard. He shut his optics tightly, off-lining them but he could "see" Starscream's servo tracing the seams along his pelvic armor, afraid he would try and force the panels open but instead he lightly caressed them, as though trying to get _him_ to beg for more. He would have bitten down on his lip plate but it still stung from where he last bit it; instead he lightly probed the slit with his glossia, moaning at the slight sting of pain as he pressed his stabilizers together as tightly as he could. The heat was growing more, begging for more but the chain refused to give way. _'N-Not gonna-uhh!- call for 'im!'_ But it would be so easy. His fans vented even faster, frame trembling as he felt his valve throbbing in want. His moaning was becoming rapid, servos clutching the chain tightly, fighting his processor to not give in. He never noticed as the data cube lit up and began playing a new series of clips.

"What's he doing?"

"Hey, what's happening to him?"

"Oh Primus, gross! Look what he did!"

He froze, optics snapping open wide he watched as the holovid show what appeared to be a large group of younglings, mechs and femmes all with different body types and color schemes, and they were laughing and pointing at him.

"No… no, no no! I-I deleted this memory! I deleted it!" He began to panic, tugging even harder on the chains but he froze once more when he felt warm liquid slipping out from beneath his armor, down the inside of his stabilizers. Unable to cover himself he pressed his knee joints together but whimpered at the sound of wet mesh rubbing against one another. Now his faceplates were burning in embaressment as the younglings continued to point and laugh at his state of arousal. It grew worse when the holoimages of not only his team but that of Sentinnel Prime showed up, insulting him as they laughed and pointed along with everybot else. Just like before he tried to disable his audio recievers but the lock was still engaged. His frame went slack and he could only hang there, optics shut tightly as soft ktching sounds escaped his clentched denta. More than anything he wished he was anywhere but here, even back on Cybertron but it wouldn't matter. No matter how far he ran, he could never escape away from this dark memory.

"I… I… *ktch* de-deleted… this… *ktch* … why…" he whimpered into the shadows of his prison.

* * *

' _This is all your fault, Optimus!'_ Which was true as far as Sentinel was concerned. Anytime anything went bad for him, it was the Elite Guard drop out's fault and no one was going to correct him otherwise. First the incident on that organic infested planet, Archa Seven, where his first lo-best friend was abandoned. Then dealing with those two bumbling glitches as Sentinel minor at the Autobot Boot Camp. And just when he thought he would never have to worry about them he had to go to some flithy planet swarming with so much organic matter he still felt like he wasn't clen'enough! What's more he had Ultra Magnus with him only to discover that not only was the AllSpark there, it had been shattered in many tiny pieces (thanks a lot, Optimus!) but the Decepticons were there as well!

Then there was the incident of having his own body frame stolen from him, by those organic creates called"humans" (disgusting pests), driving off an uncompleted road, having his own stasis cuffs used on him, being reprimanded by Ultra Magnus more than once, and now having lost their own Decepticon prisoner! Primus was surely laughing at his series of unfortunate events.

' _This is all your fault, Optimus!'_ he processed angrily.

"Sentinel Prime, sir."

"What is it?" he snapped, clearly not in the mood to be dealing with anyone right now.

Jazz, used to the blue prime's attitude, brought up the communication message. "We received a message from Optimus Prime on Earth. It says its urgent and wants a response ASAP."

"ASAP?"

"As soon as possible, sir."

His engine rumbled angrily. Having to deal with _anything_ from that glitch was the last thing he wanted to do, ever! But nodding to the Elite Guard he watched as he pulled up the message and played it.

"This is Optimus Prime sending an urgent message to Ultra Magnus and Sentinel Prime. We have reason to believe that the Decepticon known as Starscream has taken one of my teammates prisoner, our scout Bumblebee," he said calmly but there was a note of urgency in his tone. "We are requesting assistance in this matter as it has been two solar cycles since he's been taken and we have yet to to lcoated him."

The handsome-chinned mech snorted even as he impatiently tapped his digits on his chair's armrest. Surely this had to be a joke, why would Starscream take that bumbling glitch? "Probably fell for an obvious trap," he mumbled aloud but the message continued playing.

"Please, my team and I are worried for his safety and we could use all the help we can get… Optimus Prime, signing out." The message stopped and Jazz wordlessly closed it.

"Your orders, sir?"

"About what?"

"Well, Optimus Prime is requesting assistance, and if Starscream is on Earth we can use this opportunity to retrieve him, bring him back to Cybertron and have him face the High Council. He could be downloading all the data Bumblebee knows and use it against us."

"That pathetic little bumbler doesn't know a slagging thing. He was just at the wrong destination at the wrong duration," he said coldly. "We're not gonna waste precious Elite Guard efforts; they're his team, his responsibility."

"But, sir-"

"I said they're Optimus' responsibility!" he shouted, slamming his fist onto the armrest, denting it slightly. As the sound echoed around the command center. Everybot was eerily quiet but Jazz immedaitely stood and saluted. Sentinel frowned, raising an optic ridge until he heard somebot clearning their vocalization behind him. Snarling he whirled to let the unsuspecting bot have it only to let out an very undignified yelp and scramble from the chair.

"Ultra Magnus, sir!" He immediately brought his hand up in a salute but in his haste he brought his hand up too hard he lammed it into the brow of his helm. The urge to curse was right there on the tip of his glossia but he forced himself to hold it back, ignoring the sizeable dent he could now feel.

"At ease, both of you," he said as he quietly took his place in _his_ seat that Sentinel just vacated. He raised his hand before the Cyber Ninja could speak up, his vents cycling air softly in the form of a quiet sigh. "I've already viewed the message, Jazz. I also replied as well as sent a response to have some of the Elite Guard temporarily assigned to our team. They responded back that they will meet with us at Earth's coordinates."

The white bot smiled, nodding. He dind't expect anything less from the Supreme Commander but Sentinel looked shocked. "But sir, why are you bothering with this? That bumbler-er, scout, is a drop out. I should know, I personally had him expelled when he dropped a building on me during training!"

"I am aware of his record as well as everyone on Earth's team, but I also received word that the Autobot traitor known as Wasp has escaped prison," he told them, seeing the shocked looks on their faceplates. "Normally I would have left this to the prison guards and Cybertron Police, but there were countless reports of him wanting revenge about a "bumblebot" for ruining his life."

"Bumblebot… that's gotta be Bumblebee!" Jazz said immediately, taking a few steps towards him. "He was in the same class along with the space bridge engineer, Bulkhead! I've read their files on everyone before we arrived on Earth, sir."

"I see." Secretly he was pleased that Jazz had taken the opportunity to read up on the Autobots without being told and looked at the still saluting Prime. His optic ridge rose slightly and the large mech quickly dropped his servo. "You wish to say something, Sentinel?"

"Well, you see, um. P-Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Denied."

"Thank y—wait, what? Why?"

"I already heard you before I entered, I also know your history with Optimus has not been the best but they are still Autobots and they have requested our help," he began calmly but fixed the Prime with an steady, unblinking gaze. "If Starscream is responsible for botnapping their scout, there is no telling what kind of torture he is subjecting him to in order to extract information. And now with the traitor missing, no doubt he is making his own plans to get to Earth if not already on his way."

"But sir-!"

"As long as I am the Magnus of Cybertron and Supreme Commander of the Autobot military, I give the final command. Is that clear?" The servo weilding the massive hammer tightened over so slightly, optics narrowing. Subtle shifts could be overlooked easily but the large-chinned mech stiffened and immediately saluted, only to hit himself in the same dent, harder then before and he was unable to stop the curse from slipping free. "Fragging Pitt! I-I mean sir, yes, sir!"

Nodding he waved his other hand, dismissing the Prime. Listening to him leave he waited until the door slid close and once more vented the air from his system. He did look up when he heard a surpressed snicker but dind't call the bot out on it. Instead he pulled up a smaller screen from the control panel on his seat and forward the file to the other guard member. "These are the guards I requested to our team."

Nodding Jazz opened the file and quickly read them to himself. Two of the guards he knew alright, he had trained them himself personally. He did frown silently he read their dossier. Last he had heard the twins were having a rather trying time fitting in with the other Elite Guard members. Not only were the youngest of all the other bots, they both had too much excess energy to contain, combined with their natural gift in combat, acrobatic skills, and how well they worked together, they were a force to be recconded with. But it dind't help that they had the flight protocols from Starscream himself and as such, their "unnatural abilities" granted to them made them just a tad unstable.

' _But they listen to Sentinel. Though not sure I like him having those two under his thumb so easily,'_ he thought and moved to the third file. At this he blinked and looked at Ultra Magnus. "Sir, I thought Blurr was MIA?"

"So did I, but it turns out he had been under the forced control of a human who had a fragment of the AllSpark. What's more, he is one of our fastest Elite Guards and the twins are the only seekers we have. We can use every advantage we have at our disposal," he explained. "We are spread thin right now and I cannot afford to pull everyone from their current posts. As such, we are the only three who have been to Earth and we do not have time to aculmilate everyone to an organic planet right now."

"I understand, sir."

"… is there something troubling you, Jazz?"

"… Bumblebee isn't want Sentiel goes on about, sir. Sure he's just a kid, a youngling, but he's got a lot of spark. I'm just worried about what Starscream is doing to him."

"So am I, Jazz. So am I."

~ To be continued. ~

 **Author's Note:** I think, this is probably the most angest and drama I have written for a story outside of multiple RPGs I've written with some very dear friends. I also did a lot of research and you may have already tell, I'm not really going by the show's series. I mean I am, but I'm not certain of a lot of things for the future. Like for example, do I want the hassle of dealing with Starscream's army of clones? Not to mention I was on the fence a lot about who can help the Autobots find bumblebee when I remember reading something about the Jettwins.

I would also like to point out that this chapter did have a lot of abuse in it, and I feel so bad for 'Bee. Part of him wants to explainw hat happened but in case you dind't read it Bee did not have a happy life growing up and he suffered some mental trauma along the way that he decided to lock up and never relive. Unfortunately, short of wiping his entire processor clean, anything deleted can be restore (learned that the hard way).

Next chapter will have more abuse, and the strong possibility of actual sex going on. Again, I will not be posting that bit of the chapter here due to NC17 ban going on but when I do post it I will let you know. Now, if you want to read it just send me a PM and I'll link you. But don't send me a PM right now I have yet to write it!

Also, be on the look out as I might be putting a poll out about Bee's relationship in the future and as well as another one but I'll go into more detail later. Readers and fans of Transformers: Animated, thank you for sticking with me so far and now I must bid you a good night! (gives a deep bow)


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** Here we are onto chapter three! Wow, two chapter in one week, I'm on a roll! Well, gonna try to continue to be on a roll anyway. I'll make this short and sweet but I would like to point out this chapter is smut related. However, due to 's strict ban on anything with explicit material I will not be posting the smut here. Sorry but I rather not get banned or take my chances of it. So, I will let you know where to find the smutty filled chapter when I get the chance. Enjoy!

Cybertron Units of Time = Earth Units of Time

Nanoklik = 1 second

Cycle = 1.5 minutes (100 nanokliks)

Breem = 8.3 minutes

Megacycle = 2.6 hours (100 cycles)

Solar Cycle = 1 day (10 megacycles)

Deca-Cycle = 10 days (10 solar cycles)

Orbital Cycle = 1 month (32 solar cycles)

Stellar Cycle = 1 year (320 solar cycles)

 **!WARNING!**

 **This chapter contains mention of sexual abuse (touching) as well psychological trauma. If you do not want to read this, then I advise you not to continue. If you still want to read the chapter then it is by your own choice. This story has been rated M for a reason. I would also like to say I do not condone acts of sexual violence, and to remind you—the reader—that this is purely fictional.**

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

Time had a way of moving so fast if you blinked the entire day would be over and done with before you knew it, or would crawl so slow one would think that it had stopped. For the Autobot scout who went by the designation Bumblebee, he had lost track of all matters time. His chronometer was the only indication of just how long he had been a prisoner but it didn't matter. All he knew was every time the seeker came by to see him he would be left even more confused than before.

The data cube would play multiple videos in a random order, ranging from his teammates here on Earth, his interaction with several of the Elite Guard, to his history while attending the boot camp, and even some taken from his sparklinghood. Of all the clips those were the ones he wished had continued to stay buried. They brought back unwanted reactions that his "warden" liked to discuss with him. He never said anything but that didn't stop _him_ from talking, or touching him.

Black, clawed servos roamed his form slowly, tracing transformation seams as well as the scratches he had made previously. Leaning forward he licked at the gap where his chassis didn't quite cover his neck and traced the cables with his glossia, smirking when he stiffened.

"I wonder, how you managed to stay untouched for so long," he said lowly in between licks, knowing he was listening even with his optics closed. "Those arrogant younglings were jealous, you know. You were faster, brighter, and you refused them every step of the way." He cycled air through his system slowly, pulling him closer even as he tried arching away. "I know because I was the same, once."

'… _never asked for your, sob story,'_ he thought but he had no choice but to listen. Maybe if he got him talking, he would leave him the Pitt alone. But he never took the cube with him. It didn't matter though, he was already numb to everything being said, the holovids having already burned themselves deep in his processor that no amount of scrubbing could ever get rid of.

"I never knew my creator or what his designation was, but my carrier once told me he was a great explorer. Then my carrier passed into the Well…" Servos came up and rested lightly on the scout's yellow hip plates, digits rubbing little circles into the warm metal, faceplates pressed into his shoulder. "Vos was the ideal home for seekers, nothing but open skies to fly in to our sparks content… but I was taken from my home and forced into a youth center in Iaon. I hated it, surrounding by nothing but buildings with barely a glimpse as the skies I once loved. I wasn't allowed to fly and each time I tried I was punished; I was the only seeker there and no one understood my needs, no one cared about a orphaned seeker…"

No one, cared about him? At least he had his carrier but then he was alone… _'What the frag am I doing? Stop it, mech! He's the enemy!'_ he thought even as he opened his optics slightly but refused to look at him. "If you're trying to get my sympathy you're outta luck," he said calmly and managed to resist the urge to tremble when he felt him chuckle, lip plates touching the sensitive cables as servos wrapped around his frame, pulling him closer to him. If he wasn't still hanging from the chain no doubt he would be on the floor at this psycho-seeker's mercy.

"You don't believe me. Good, I would be disappointed if you believed my tale of woe so easily," he chuckled, nuzzling the slender cables and licked a trail upward until he reached his audio receiver. "I've seen what was done to you at the youth center… in the worse slums of Pitt-created Kaon… it's no wonder no one believed you, little Bee…" He could feel the scout trembling but pushed on. "You were lucky not to have had your seal taken… unless, somebot else took it…?" A servo slowly slid over his brightly colored aft, tracing the smooth panel between his stabilizers. There was a split nanoklik of tensing before he began struggling almost violently, peds coming up in a futile attempt at kicking him off.

"None ya business! Don't t-touch me!" he shouted, panic evident in his posture but the servo around his waist refused to let go and the digit continued the gentle stroking. He refused to let himself get aroused at his touch, desperate to get away but his peds were unable to gain any leverage to get away and he found himself unintentionally grinding against the seeker instead. He felt the internal automatic command threatening to open the panel but manually overrode it and made sure it stayed tightly closed. He managed to keep his seal for this long and he wasn't about to lose it to a Decepticon! "No!"

"Is that so. Good… very, _very_ good…" he purred into his audio before pulling back, taking in the scout's flushed and angry expression. His self-repair had managed to fix his split lip though there was a very thin silver scar that could be easily overlooked. He leaned forward, wanting to taste it but as he jerked back he growled and forcefully grabbed the back of his helm and held it in place. Satisfied he wasn't going to pull away he leaned forward once more and tracing the scar with his glossia. "Mmmm… you taste sweet, little Bee…" he moaned lowly.

His system was venting air in and out in a mad frenzy, sputtering a few times in an effort to cool down. Slag it, why did he have to be such a tease? "Don…" Another low moan as the slick glossia traced over the slight scar, slipping between lips to flick against his own glossia. "… don't, call me little…" His struggles were becoming less and less while finding it more and more difficult to resist him.

Starscream smirked, pulled back to look down at him. He watched as his optics widen and saw a mix of fear and arousal swirling in the soft blue lights. "Little Bee," he smirked and lowered his faceplate down, pulling his helm closer and slid his glossia over the small horn. His engine rumbled louder than before as he mewed sharply in pleasure, now arching into him for more contact. Moaning he drew the sensitive appendage into his mouth and sucked at it, pressing his digits into his panel harder than before.

Oh Primus, why did it have to feel so good? He could feel his logic circuits shutting down, engine vibrating loudly, fuel pumps going into overdrive, his core temperature rising so quickly a light sheen of condensation was forming on his frame, his fans whirling even louder in a vain effort to keep him from overheating. His optics dimmed in pleasure, trembling as he felt each swipe of his slick glossia, teasing the sensory nodes, the gentle scrap of denta along the thin metal; he didn't realize his stabilizers had wrapped around the seeker's frame, even as he pushed himself into the servo that was still rubbing firmly against his panel. _'Don't open… don't open… don't-Primus!-open!'_ he repeated to himself, ignoring the throbbing heat of his valve, how tight his codpiece felt. His own servos clenched around the chain still holding him prisoner, eager to touch something like the chassis his faceplate was pressed into… his processor supplied something else he could use to touch the heated frame before him and he answered it with a low moan.

The touch was unexpected, causing him to halt all his actions but as the slick glossia continued licking at the glass of his cockpit he continued his own ministrations. _'Sweet little Bee… MY little Bee…'_ he moaned and pulled up, giving the small horn one last lick (smirking when the scout whimpered in pleasure) and watched as he continued licking him. Once more he longed to pin the vulnerable scout to the floor, force his interface panel open and take him. His processor supplied images of what he would look like if he tried. Would he submit and let him do as he pleased, accepting his fate? Or would he continue to fight him, call him names and say they were nothing alike? Or perhaps, he would fight him at first, denying what his body was saying then ultimately beg him to overload, agreeing to anything he asked?

His processor was quickly being overridden, arousal and lust were overriding his logic circuits; servos roughly slid to those smooth hip plates, gripping them hard enough to dent the metal he pushed them away slightly, the whimper of protest reaching his own audio receivers but once he felt his panel slide open he grunted and pulled the lithe frame close. His wings twitched as they began grinding their frames together, paint being scratched off in a desperate dance to overload.

 *** Due to the explicit nature of this portion of the chapter, I am complying with 's NC17 ban and have removed this portion. If you are interested in reading the unedited version, please send me a PM. Thank you. ***

"Are you certain no bot has taken your seal?" he asked, feeling him tense against him but didn't stop in his petting. "Some of your files were heavily encrypted…"

"…" he was silent, refusing to give him an answer but he couldn't ignore the pleasurable tingle as his digit continued stroking. "No… no bot… ever touched it…" he admitted, optics dim as he closed them. "Was… only thing, had… belonged to me…"

"Hmmm." There was no telling if he was lying or not, save for removing the armor and inspecting himself. Nothing was said for a few breems until he watched him leaned back and looked at him with defiant optics. "Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that, little Bee."

"I told you, don't call me little. And only my friends call me Bee!" he snapped, refusing to look at the smear of transfluid covering both their frames. It would just prove what he was desperately trying to forget.

"Does that include those who call you a troublesome glitch who's not worth their time?" He froze. His spark clenched tightly deep in his chassis, causing his system to glitch, prompting a reboot. "Join me, Bumblebee. Help me locate the remaining fragments, and together we'll show everyone why they never should have underestimated us. We'll take over Cybertron, and shape it to a world that fits out ideals." He leaned in close, tracing his lips with a lubricant-covered digit then leaned in and licked some of it and some energon from the corner, ignoring the way he flinched as he tried to turn away. "What do you say, little Bee?"

His words were so enticing, and a part of him wanted payback for all the chaos he went through. He wanted to prove he was worth something, that he wasn't a bumbler but, he couldn't. He was still an Autobot. "N-No…"

"…"

"I, I said no, Starscream… I don't work, with Decepticons…" he said quietly, mentally kicking himself. It sounded so weak and he watched as a look quickly flittered through red optics but it was gone before he could read it. He tensed as he felt servos along his stabilizers but they calmly unhooked them from around his sleek frame. He managed to keep his balance on his peds but he made the mistake of watching those same servos reach down and replace the codpiece over his spent spike.

"You'll see it my way soon enough…" Looking down at him for several more kliks the seeker calmly turned and walked away. He never once looked back.

Bumbebee's vent stuttered for air, stabilizers shaking he would have fallen to his knee joints but the chain was still keeping him standing. He looked down at his frame and saw more scratches and dents than before, transfluid covering his front as well as his pelvic armor. Even as he allowed his system to reboot he read the list of new injuries he had. The claws had punctured his pelvic armor, even pierced his protoflesh. More scratches along his armor, and his glossia stung from where he had bitten him. He couldn't believe he had overloaded but he moaned as he licked the lubricate from his lips, tasting it along with his energon. He was so numb he couldn't feel anything, not even shame as he fell into a blissful recharge. For a moment, he knew peace and quiet.

* * *

Sari didn't know how long she had been crying for, but it seemed like every time she made a new friend, someone close to her was taken away. For the longest time it had just been her dad in Sumdac Tower, surrounded by robots her father had built but she wanted to know about her home city. Then one day while trying to get her keycard away from her pet, Sparkplug, she meet the Autobots. She had actually thought her father had built them for the city (or a surprise birthday gift to her) but she was more than happy to teach the robotic aliens about life on Earth. But the enemy they had been tracking revealed himself and even claimed her father had been secretly repairing him.

' _Dad's a lot of things, but he would have never helped that giant walking bucket-head willingly,'_ she argued, tightening her arms around her knees. She had lost him when he was kidnapped and for a moment, she thought she was going to lose her new friends in the process. But instead they gave her a home what that greedy jerk Powell kicked her out of her own. It took some adjusting but she still had a family and Bumblebee had been there for her the whole time. He had even promised her that they would bring her father back.

' _Bee…'_ He's been missing for three days and each time he asked if the Autobots received anything they couldn't look at her. No one said anything nor did they answer her questions, but she would not give up on her best friend. Releasing her legs she reached up and gripped the AllSpark Key tightly. Optimus claimed that the key was the most powerful artifact and entrusted her to safeguard it. She felt honored by it and had even used it to help them locate the scattered fragments but it couldn't help them find their missing friend. "I wish you would help me find Bumblebee… he's my best friend," she said softly but the key didn't so much as glow.

Bulkhead watched the tiny organic from the doorway leading into his friend's room, unsure if he should say anything or leave her alone. He knew she was worried, they all were, but when he tried to get her to go home she would begin yelling at them that she wasn't leaving until Bumblebee was found or burst into tears and escape to the minibot's room. So they let her stay and continued their search. Venting air through his system he silently (as much as he could) entered the room and walked over to the recharging berth to sit next to her. He tried several times to say something, anything, but each time he sat there like a dumb bot with his jaw hanging open. Venting once more he rubbed the back of his helm with his servo, his processor a complete blank.

"Sari, I-I'm no good at this. I just smash stuff when we're fighting Decepticons but if I know 'Bee he's putting up a Pitt of a fight." She was silent but he took that as to continue talking. "See, in boot camp he was the only bot to talk to me and didn't treat him like I just fell off the energon truck. Well, not at first, but I knew deep down he was a good bot. And I know its my fault he got kicked outta there, he really had his optics set on becoming an Elite Guard, but he gave it up for me. I guess, what I'm trying to say is we're gonna get Bee back no matter what. So, don't cry. Please?" Looking down at her he began to panic when he saw she leaking from her optics once more. He was about to yell for Ratchet but Sari threw herself into him, clinging to whatever she could reach. "Sari-"

"I miss him so much!" she sobbed, trying to stop the tears but she felt like she was losing control. "I want him back here with us! I want us to play video games all day! I want to watch as he tries to prank Prowl! I want to see him run from Ratchet! I want to ride along as he patrols the city! I just want my best friend back!"

The gentle forest green engineer looked down at her with dark blue optics in understanding. Reaching down he gently, carefully, held her in his cupped servos. "Me too, Sari. I miss our little buddy." He'd give anything to hear the yellow bot snap at him for calling him little, it would be worth all the high-grade oil in Detroit.

As the two friends were trying to comfort one another an argument in the main room of the old factory was about to turn physical. Once more Sentinel made his opinions known about what he thought about this "search and recue" mission and was not holding back. He also continued to belittle Optimus' leadership skills at being unable to keep an optic on a single minibot in a city full of disease-ridden organics.

"I would have perfectly happy if I never had to come back here and fix your mistake!" he shouted at the other Prime.

"Watch yourself, Sentinel. And you're one to talk about fixing the mistakes of others," he snapped back. He was short on recharge, his processor wasn't functioning at full capacity, and he felt his systems stall every time he thought of the missing scout. "The only reason I sent you the message was because you've been here before, you already have alt-modes for here and the humans here are aware of our existence. I honestly expected you to ignore the message and I would have perfectly happy if you hadn't come back either."

"You think you're such a hot shot. If was your fault that the AllSpark was shattered! And then you had to start spreading rumors that the Decepticons were still around!"

"They are! You've seen proof of that and so had Ultra Magnus!"

"Watch yourself before I have you court marshalled for yelling at a Prime, soldier!"

"We're of equal rank, you outdated glitched up fragger! What's more, its your fault Bumblebee is missing in the first place!" he rounded on him, surprising the other bots in the common room. "Starscream was in stasis cuffs when you left and apparently now he's back here on Earth. If you had done your job as a Prime instead of showboating like the fragger you are, I wouldn't have had a reason to call you back!"

"That. Is. IT!" Both Primes were so upset Sentinel was ready to charge the other prime, powering up his lance as Optimus powered up his axe when the two Cyber ninjas stepped in and physically held them back.

"We're suppose to be working together an' fighting Decepticons, not each other!" Jazz tried to reason but the blue Prime was too busy yelling obscenities to the other. _'Why do I even bother?'_ he thought as he managed to get him to keep moving forward. "Yo, Prowl! I could use some help here!"

"Just a moment. Optimus, I know you're worried about Bumblebee, we all are, but even if Sentinel is here at least Ultra Magnus answered your message and not only did he come, he brought more bots to help us."

"But its been days and we still haven't found anything. For all we know he could be off-lined permanently!" he hadn't meant to shout but it was the one fear he had and just saying it aloud made him wince painfully.

"Once a useless bumbler always one!"

"That's it! I should have done this centuries ago!" Now the black and gold bot was pushing at his Prime as he tried to charge towards Sentinel. The two were able to keep them from reaching the other but it was taking all they had to hold them in place much less push them away. Both were so busy yelling at each other, insulting their creators and lineage they never noticed as Ratchet come out of the communications room with Ultra Magnus and the twinjets, the two latter looking very confused as two why the two Primes were yelling at one another. Just when it appeared that the fight would get completely out of servo the Supreme Commander wordlessly lifted his Magnus Hammer and slammed the butt of it onto the floor. The head of the hammer began to cackle, the sound reminiscence of a powerful electrical storm on the horizon but thankfully he did not need to call it down as the fighting Primes stopped.

"U-Ultra Magnus, sir! I-"

"Not now, Sentinel. I would have words with the two of you later but for now you two are to act like Primes instead of a pair of spoiled sparklings," he ordered calmly.

Optimus said nothing, giving a curt nod but he did sub-space his axe away. Sentinel, however, just had to have the last word. "But, sir! He started it!" The servo holding the hammer twitched and he immediately stood straight at attention, nearly taking his head off with his lance before he deactivated. "I-I mean, shutting up! Sir!"

"Remind me to ask how you did that later," Ratchet mumbled to the commander, taking a moment to rub at his forehelm. "I just updated them on what we known but so far there doesn't seem to be anything we can do."

"But, surely you have a plan!" Prowl immediately asked, taking a few steps towards them. "Bumblebee has never been missing for this long, and Starscream has a reputation for being unstable himself. If we wait any longer then all our efforts will be for naught!"

"Listen, Prowl, I've been scanning the city every nanoklik using the human's satellites but there is no sign of either of them. We're been running on fumes for the last solar cycle and don't even try to lie to me. I can tell you and Optimus haven't been recharging at night." He could tell they had guilty looks on their faceplates but he could reprimand them later. "I'm worried about him too, but running ourselves into the ground ain't gonna help us find Bumblebee any faster."

"Ratchet has a point but understand that we are here to help as well. That is why I recommend for now we recharge and at first light of a new solar cycle we go out and search every part of the city. And after consulting with Ratchet, I believe it would be best if we included the organic to come with us." Now that set up a very negative reaction from Sentinel who went on and on about how their acid-sacks could eat through their armor in nanokliks and what other dangerous diseases and contaminants they were carrying. The Autobots looked confused but the magnus continued speaking. "From your reports, Optimus, the key the organic wears has the ability to locate the remaining fragments of the AllSpark. Perhaps, we can use it to locate Starscream and by extension, Bumblebee as well."

No one had thought of doing that, they just wanted to keep her safe but they knew if she could help she would, no questions asked. Even though Optimus wanted to start the search right now he knew it would be best to start anew in the morning. Thanking Ultra Magnus for his assistance he left for his quarters, knowing that the Elite Guard would be returning to their ship (no doubt with the force field activated due to Sentinel's irrational fear) but as he pasted by Bumblebee's room he peered inside.

Bulkhead was laying on the recharging berth, lightly snoring away but gently cradled on his chassis was Sari, clutching the AllSpark Key in hand. He could tell she had been crying but she shift and clung to a blanket, muttering the scout's designation in her sleep. Stepping back he closed the door and continued to his quarters but the resolve to find the scout grew stronger.

He was going to find the yellow minibot, and so Primus help anyone who tired to stop him.

~ To be continued. ~

 **Author's Notes:** Woohoo! Three chapters in 2 days! No wait, 3 days? Oh whatever, I'm on a roll! I would also like to thank the reivews who have commented so far ( **SparkySparkfire** ; **maria-ioanna984** ) very much for taking the time to not only read my story, but review as well. I hope you'll continue to enjoy this as I type along.

Now, I would like to point out something. Due to the fiction rating only reaching 'M' I had to edit part of the chapter. Looking at this, I could just take a chance, bite the bullet, and post as is, but the last time I did that my story was removed with no warning from admin and I lost all those wonderful reviews and comments. I was pissed, upset, sadden, and I wanted to do bodily harm to the jerks who did this to me. But its not worth an ulcer so what I have decided to do it posted this story, uncensored, on another site.

To those interested in reading the chapter, please PM about it. But I would really appreciate it if you would write a review for said chapter here instead of the site.

Next chapter (which I hope will be soon but we'll see), will kinda of fast-forward things ahead. TBH, I'm surprised Starscream is holding out this long. I thought for sure he woulda jumped poor sweet Bee soon as his guard was down! (ignores Starscream being Starscream) So more than likely, the next chapter will have sex. Maybe. I think? We'll see, laterz!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** Another chapter down, another to go! TBH, I have no idea how long this story will be and I even have several scenarios I may or may not use. Hell, I'm wondering how Starscream will react if/when he finds out he sired a sparkling! Getting off track here. Anyway, this chapter may appeared rushed, but this chapter will be mention sex which means in the next few chapters or so will bring everything in a full circle to the first chapter. But I'll be sure to post a note or such so when it happens so you, as the reader, won't feel like you were suddenly thrown for a really bad loop. So, go on, go read this chapter I slaved over! BTW, if anyone wants to fanart I would be so damn honored! ;)

Cybertron Units of Time = Earth Units of Time

Astrosecond = .273 seconds

Nanoklik = 1 second

Cycle = 1.5 minutes (100 nanokliks)

Breem = 8.3 minutes

Megacycle = 2.6 hours (100 cycles)

Solar Cycle = 1 day (10 megacycles)

Deca-Cycle = 10 days (10 solar cycles)

Orbital Cycle = 1 month (32 solar cycles)

Stellar Cycle = 1 year (320 solar cycles)

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

"Brother, I is seeing why Jazz sir liking this Earth."

"I is agreeing, brother. Is like home but not. Is nice."

"Nice very being."

Two jets, one blue and the other orange, flew through the clear skies of Detroit, their great altitude letting them coast through the soft white clouds. There were so high up the humans walking the streets never noticed them so the camera bots took no notice of them, either. To the twins, it just felt good to be flying again even if they were running scans every cycle.

When they had received orders that they would be going to an organic planet designated Earth, they had some concerns about it. Sentinel prime had expressed such great dislike of it and vowed that nothing in the Pitt would get him to return. Imagine their surprise when they learned that not only was the Prime on the organic planet, their orders for the transfer came from Ultra Magnus himself. Their surprise increase to the point where their systems had to reboot when they found Sentinel Prime, Jazz AND Ultra Magnus were already on the planet when they arrived as well another Autobot designation Blurr.

Their mission, they had believed, was to track down and capture the traitor Wasp who had escaped prison several megacycles ago. They were excited to show off their skills in capturing him and listened intently as the supreme commander explained the aspects of their mission. True, they were called in to track down the fugitive, but it was also to assist in locating an Autobot scout who had gone missing and led to believe had been captured by Starscream, the second-in-command of the Decepticon forces.

Bumblebee had already been missing for three solar cycles, going on four, and his teammates were beside themselves with worry. They had never heard anybot insulting Sentinel the way Optimus had yet he was not reprimanded. But now that they were soaring the clear skies of the organic city (Detroit, it sounded almost like a cityscape on Cybertron) they wondered why Sentinel hated it so much.

"I is thinking Sentinel sir wrong."

"Wrong why?"

"Cityscape is nice place, reminds me of home in way."

"Reminds me of home also. Home not have organics."

"No, does not." Grinning to himself the orange jet revved his engine thrusters, performing a barrel roll over his twin as he picked up speed. "Racing should do, brother!"

"But, scanning we must to find scout missing," Jetstorm reminded him even though he felt his engines rumbling in response.

"We is scanning but scan faster if we faster."

That made sense. Instead of answering his thrusted rumbled and his speed suddenly increased, bypassing his brother before he caught up. Soon the two were enjoying their race of speed as they flew over the outskirts of the city. Enjoying the feel of air coasting over their wings they failed to notice as their scanners began to show gaps due to their speed.

* * *

Deep in the carbon-lined mines on the outskirts of Detroit, Megatron was quietly thinking as he sat on his throne. He had not heard anything from his traitorous SIC in solar cycles and while his failed (and pathetic) attempts at destroying him amused and annoyed him to some degree, he had not heard from him and it made him think. He was not worried by all means, he had nothing to fear from the idiotic seeker, but it seemed to be that he must be planning something in yet another futile effort to gain the leadership of the Decepticons from him.

' _He has a fragment of the AllSpark… no doubt he would try to gain the other pieces for himself,'_ he mused, frowning slightly. If he had difficulty with the ancient artifact, why did he think he could handle it? Perhaps, having said fragment enabled him better control over it? The idea did not sit well with him and he felt his fusion cannon hum to life. Now if he could find him he could torture him until he wrung out every last bit of data from his processor-

The door to the room opened and the heavy ped falls of Lugnut soon followed as he ran forward and quickly bowed before him. "Oh mighty and glorious Megatron!" he shouted as loud as he could. "I-" He froze when the plasma shot barely missed his helm even as it created quite a round hole in the door behind him.

"What part of 'I do not wish to be disturbed' did you not understand, Lugnut?" He did not have the processor to deal with his glorified devotion (however accurate it was) right now. And it would simply not due to annihilate one of his most loyal and powerful soldiers.

"M-My deepest apologies, oh magnificent Megatron! But we have received word that Ultra Magnus is here on Earth!" he quickly explained. He could always spread his glorious leader's many attributes later, when he was not upset.

"What?" Ultra Magnus had returned to this festering planet? For what reason? The only bot who would know would be his double-agent which brought up another question; why had he not been told this ahead of time? "Who else has arrived with him?"

"Our reports show that with him is Sentinel Prime and two Autobot seekers. We have yet to learn their designations, oh fearless leader."

' _But I know someone who can provide me all the data I need,'_ he thought and waved his hand. "Leave me."

He blinked his single red optic at the warlord. "Lord Megatron?"

"I must process the data you have given me. For now, monitor our new guests closely but do not let them see you." He got up from his throne, barely glancing at Lugnut kept bowing as he began to back up. "And find somebot to fix my door."

"At once, oh glorious and shiny leader of the Decepticons!" he was out the door before the plasma shot could strike him but there was another hole to be filled in as well.

His optic ridge twitched unnaturally before his internal systems could halt it. Thinking that he was surrounded by idiots he walked into another part of his quarters and stood before a large terminal. Pressing a few buttons he hacked into the communication links and watched as the screen booted up to reveal the face of his undercover agent.

"Lord Megatron, how may I be of assistance to you?"

"I require data, Shockwave. Why was I not made aware of the return of Ultra Magnus?" he demanded immediately.

"My apologies, my lord. There was a recent situation at the prison where a prisoner managed to escape. As soon as Ultra Magnus received word he was heading back to Earth; there was no time to report to you."

"Understood but I will not be merciful should this happen again," he warned. "What makes this prisoner so important that caused Ultra Magnus come to see to his retrieval? And what of these "seekers" I've heard that the Autobots now have?"

"I am uploading their profiles now, my lord," he said and not even an astrosecond later the screen split in half and the files opened on Megatron's screen. "Jetfire and Jetstorm. Former repair bots that met an unfortunate accident and were rebuilt with the protocol of a seeker the Autobots had in their grasp before he managed to escape."

"So I see." It was quite devious and something he did not thing the Autobots High Council would have approved of, but apparently they were desperate if they resorted to using coding from a Decepticon to some of their own. "And the escapee?"

"Designation Wasp. He is no one of your concern, my lord." But he uploaded the file anyway. He waited several nanokliks as he waited for his lord to go over the files before speaking up once more. "Is there anything else you need, my lord?"

Megatron was silent for nearly a breem before speaking up. "Yes. Being preparations for my plan to overtake Cybertron. And make certain that no bot knows of your true designation. Should they, you know what to do."

"Yes, Lord Megatron." With that the connection was cut off.

Trapped within his prison professor Isaac Sumdac was listening intently. He was surprised when he found that Megatron has a spy within the ranks of the Autobots, and he had to in pretty deep if no one had yet to discover him but while he was a prisoner of the warlord, he was going to do all he could to help his daughter's friend.

' _I only pray someone received my message,'_ he thought as he copied the transmission and sent to the Autobots. _'I hope they can forgive me. And keep Sari safe.'_

* * *

Bumblebee was so confused, not only could not tell different from night and day (his chronometer began acting up, no doubt Starscream's handy work) but his warden's visits would vary from several cycles to a few mega-cycles. Sometime he would just sand there, watching him as the data cube played holovids, as though to watch his reaction. Other times he would talk (and try to get him to talk) about the vids or praise him, calling him strong, brave, even lovely. He reacted negatively at first, claiming that his games wouldn't work on him. He could handle being beaten or tortured but the seeker never made a move to harm him. No, instead he seemed to play with him like a cybercat toying with an incapacitated glitch-mouse.

He would touch him in the way a lover might. Barely-there caresses along his protoflesh, clawed servos tracing over the lines of his armor and transformation seams, sometimes to stroke the wires hidden underneath, sometimes silent, but mostly when he was complimenting him. He tried to ignore it but he still had no luck in disabling his audio receivers or his sensory system. They were still locked in place and he had given up on disabling the lock. So he tried to ignore them and it worked, until the touches became much more intimate. He tried to tell himself that he was not enjoying it but deep in his processor, in his spark, he craved it and began to look forward to such intimate acts. Even thinking about him made his valve and spike throb in need.

 ** _* Due to the explicit nature of this portion of the chapter, I am complying with FF's NC17 ban and have removed this portion. If you are interested in reading the unedited version, please send me a PM. Thank you. *_**

When he awoke he found himself clean, no evidence of the transfluid anywhere and there was even a cube of energon waiting for him. Almost immediately he checked his valve only to see that his seal was still in place but he wasn't sure whether to feel relieved of disappointed. Why didn't Starscream take it when he had the chance? Why had he touched him so intimately only to leave him hanging? Why bother cleaning him up and feeding him? Was this his plan to catch him off-guard then torture him? He didn't know anymore, he was so confused! He stared at the energon for almost a megacycle before taking in shaking servos and drinking it all. He instantly felt better but no sooner did he finish it that he laid down and once more slipped into recharge. He never noticed that the seeker had been watching him or stirred when he retrieved the empty cube and once more left him alone.

The cycle continued and each time it left him wanting more of the intimate contact. He tried to fight it, even ignoring him (he stopped fighting him physically) but he never stopped. He tried to relieve himself with his own servos even bound but it was never the same, even if he off-lined his optics and pictured the seeker it was never the same and he could never overload. He also spoke to him more, telling him how wonderful he was, how he had never overloaded so strongly, things he had longed to hear from others. He stopped caring that this was wrong, that he shouldn't be doing this, and he clung to the obvious lies.

Lies, which tasted sweeter than any energon goodie and finer than any high grade oil. Deep down, he knew that if this continued he would do anything the seeker asked of him without the least bit of hesitation. And what was worse was, he couldn't find it in himself to care.

'… _I… want… him…'_

~ To be continued. ~

 **Author's Notes:** (rubs eyes) I hope no one is disappointed but I screwed up big time. See, I wrote a helluva scene only to move it to another computer to run spell check and before I could think about it, I deleted it to save it as the edited chapter only to realize too late, I saved over the original file! So here I am, trying to freaking remember what the hell I original wrote only to have it go flying out the window! I am so mad I could scream! I really hate myself right now.

Now, if you're reading this chapter on FF then sorry Charlie but I can't post the original content here (I know, right? I've read waaaaay more explicit stuff from other author's yet I'm the one that gets the boot and lose all my wonderful reviews! ) Anyway, Starscream is continuing with his psych torture to use Bee and he gets some sexual release out of it. And poor Bee is taking it all in. I want to just spill the beans and tell you what I have planned, but that'll ruin the surprise!

Also, thanks to this story I actually have several scenarios that makes will no doubt throw everyone in for a helluva loop! Loops even! But when the time comes, I may end up posting a poll and see how it goes. So, I hope everyone continues to stay tuned and I will catch you all later! (grins and waves) Bye bye!

Oh yeah, BTW, I hate writing accents! Jazz's accent is a bitch to write (I can read it fine) so I didn't bother to write it—and by the time I figured out how to write it I had already posted the chapters—and I have yet to hear the twins speak so I went based on what I read and just winged it with them. So please excuse me if I don't write the way they talk, I'm doing the best I can. Okay, now I gotta go! Bye!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** (vents angrily in complete rage) Okay, I don't want what the freak is going on but yesterday, from maybe around 4am (or 10am, I didn't check the clock) until 9:30 in the evening I worked on this chapter. One of my best but instead of uploading it with spelling and grammar mistakes I decide to go to bed and do it in the morning. I wake up and what the freak do I discover? My glitching flash drive corrupted my file! And it was just this one! The other files are fine and can be open and edited but not the completed chapter! And it was freaking complete, too! (screams angrily) Twice this has damn well happened and I am so sick of it! (breathes heavily a long moment while glaring at flash drive) You are so getting hammers as soon as I find the damn thing…

Oaky if I thought writing the jettwins' dialogue was back, Blitzwing's is worse! I've heard him speak a few times and I really wanted to call him Arnold! In fact, I shall call him Arnold. And Freak. But he does make me laugh at times.

Oh, that does reminds me, I posted a poll on my bio about who Bumblebee should ultimately end up with. The reason being is I actually have several scenarios going on and well as an ending planned out but all of that might change depending on how gets to be with Bee in the end. It may also affect the remaining chapters as well. The choices are Starscream, Prowl, and Optimus Prime. Now if you don't like any of them there is the "Other" option so if you pick that then please tell me who and why in a review. You can choose up to 2 options so go ahead and vote. I'll be keeping it posted until the story is complete then it'll be taken down with the final results posted at the end.

Now, why don't we see how the groups are dealing with their missing member and how Bee is dealing with his captor's latest torturing methods, then. Shall we?

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

 _With everyone astrosecond that passed, the more anxious the earth team had become. For one Cyber Ninja Prowl, recharge evaded him completely. He tried to catch a few precious cycles but each time he off-lined his optics his processor was plagued by images of the yellow minibot running towards him, calling out for help. Each time he tried reaching out for him, but he was never fast enough or he never reached him in time. Something was always holding him, sometimes it was Sentinel Prime, or something snatched bumblebee from behind, taunting him that he had failed. Crimson optics mocked him as servos grabbed at the speedster, mocking laughter echoing around them. Even in the throes of a terrible defrag he knew it was the dark magenta colored seeker._

 _"Bumblebee!" Servos grabbed at him, holding him back as he seeker continued to laugh at his despair. The autobot struggled in his grip but he still reached out to him, begging for him to save him._

 _"Prowl!" He beat the servos holding him tightly, wincing as the claws dug furrows into his armor plating. "Lemme me go, you fragging Decepticreep!"_

 _"Let him go, Starscream!" He ordered but the seeker just laughed, hovering above him._

 _"You want him so badly, autobot? Then take him." He smirked and with no warning, drove his servo into his back strut and out the middle of his chassis, his glittering spark caught in his clawed servo. The scout's optics went large, a static-filled cry escaping his vocal cords as is bright yellow coloring began to fade to gray. His frame jerked as the fist pulled itself free, optics dimming rapidly. The seeker cackled insanely as he released the off-lined scout, letting him plummet into the darkness._

 _prowl could only stare, optics wide as he followed the fallen form but even so he struggled to get free, to try and catch his fallen comrade as the seeker continued to cackled insanely, clutching the dying spark in his servo._

He jerked awake, fuel pump racing in his chassis, spark trembling. It took him a nanoklik to realize that he was in his own room. According to his chronometer he had been recharging for at least a mega-cycle but it only few like a servo full of breems. And the terrible nightmare…

"I'm sorry. Bumblebee…" Everybot had asked what he had to apologize for but it had been his fault he hadn't been there as his back-up. He had been on route when they had all received he message about a fragment being found but he had been trapped by an accident off the highway. By the time he had arrived, there had been nothing left but a large pile of rubble. Venting heavily he left his room and headed for the main area.

Jazz frowned as he went over the multiple scans from the jettwins, overlaying the map of the city (Detroit, he kinda liked the designation himself).So far there was nothing showing where the missing speedster could be and he didn't like it. He didn't want to process what the unstable seeker was doing to him either so he tried to focus on the monitors before him. He paused when he heard the too quiet ped falls and didn't have to turn and see who it was.

"Can't recharge, Prowl?"

The black and gold bot didn't seem the least bit surprised as he stepped into the large space. "I couldn't anymore," he answered simply. Pausing for an astrosecond he moved over to their communication center and looked at the screens. "Any sign of him?"

"I wish. Been going over the ground and air, but wherever he is he's hiding somewhere good." This was unlike the seeker; while he had been in their (temporarily) brig, he had been quiet but not cooperative, especially when some of his coding had been taken but Sentinel had thought nothing of it. He had been so certain that the stasis cuffs and being locked in a cell would have kept him in line. "Have you ever known Starscream to be this crafty?"

"I never would have described him as 'crafty' but it would appear that he managed to fool us all," he said bitterly. If he was able escape the Elite Guard, then what else could be capable of? What was he doing to Bumblebee?

"Bumblebee is still online."

"What?"

"You heard him. I don't know him as well as you or the others, but I know he's got the drive and determination for Elite Guard material, regardless what Sentinel thinks." He turned his chair away from the monitor and fixed his old training partner with an unflinching gaze. "I've read his file, I've also seen footage during his time at the boot camp. Kid's fast, mouth tends to run faster than him, but he's always pushing himself harder than the others, and he listens even if it doesn't seem like it. He's trying to prove he can keep up with the other big bots and refuses to be left behind. What I'm saying is, whatever Starscream is doing to him, he's ain't going down quietly."

He had a point; bee was always fighting, always speeding around, always up to something. He had to be alright. "Thank you, Jazz"

"Anytime, Prowl." Watching him leave, no doubt to get some energon, he turned back to the monitors. He frowned when he saw there were several gaps missing from the twins' scans and compared them with that of the previous scans from the others. Those particular areas had been scanned but for some reason the scans were showing up that the areas were blacked out, as though something was blocking their signal. He ran a comparison and could see in other parts of the city as well.

' _Defiantly worth checking out,'_ he thought as he made copies of the areas. Once everyone else awoke from recharge they would want to know and the sooner they started the search, hopefully the sooner they could find the missing scout and the runaway prisoner.

Neither of the Cyber Ninjas realized that a tiny pocket bot had been monitoring them, recording their conversation. One the other side of the spy link the leader of the Decepticons was listening intently. He had been listening to their conversations, monitoring their own progress. While his forces were limited he was not above letting them track down his renegade second-in-command for him. But he wondered, why put so much effort in trying to get one annoying minibot back? It was not as if he possessed great intellect as that green buffoon, or stealth like the failed Cyber Ninja, or the medical prowess of the veteran. But he meant a lot to the team, especially to Optimus Prime.

' _Perhaps, he could be of some use to me,'_ he thought to himself, turning away from his command area. He stepped into the doorway off to the side and up to his throne, sitting down as he waited for his two remaining and loyal Decepticons to appear. He didn't have to wait long as the hurried and heavy ped falls of his most loyal soldier appeared.

"All hail Lord Megatron!" Lugnut shouted for the world to hear as he immediately bowed down.

He could already feel an ache forming in his processor but tried to will it away. "Where is Blitzwing?"

The large soldier was about to speak but a swift kick in his fender caused him to pitch forward as a beige and purple bot walked in, an irritated look on his faceplates.

"Quick blocking the doorway vith joor humongous aft!" Hothead snapped as he made his way inside. Approaching the throne he bowed in a slightly more dignified manner, his faceplates shifting to that of his Icy persona. "Joo summoned us, mein Herr?"

"Indeed I have. I have a mission for the both of you; it would appear that the Autobots are searching for Starscream as well their missing member. I want the both of you to follow them and should they locate that traitorous seeker, eliminate him but bring me the AllSpark fragment as well as the yellow autobot."

"Ze autobot?" His face shifted to reveal the unstable persona known simply as Random. "Ve can smash two bots with one bomb!" he cackled insanely.

"No. I want that autobot functioning. He is apparently of some great value to the autobots and I want to know why. Perhaps, we can use him as a bargaining chip and have them gather the AllSpark fragments for us instead," he smirked.

"A brilliant plan, oh wise Megatron! Oh glorious leader! Oh shiny lord-"

"Shut joor trap before I shut it for joo, Dummkopf!" Hothead snapped angrily as he kicked the larger bot.

"Kick me again and I'll turn you inside out!" he snapped at him once he was able to regain his footing.

"Joo and vhat army, bolts for processor?!" The two of them were so busy arguing, insulting one another, they almost missed the rising hum of their very annoyed leader as his plasma arm cannon powered up.

"Go now, before I turn you both into piles of scrap metal," he threatened coolly.

"Yes, Lord Megatron!" Quickly saluting their lord they quickly ran for the doorway leading out, only for the two of them to get shut as they both tried to leave at the same time.

"Me thinks ve should made bigger doorways!" Icy commented even as he tried pulling himself free before his face spun to reveal Random. "Or maybe we can run faster?" he let out a cackle of laughter as though everything he said was a grand joke.

"Shut your faceplates! I will not allow you to ruin my plan to bring glory to our fearless lead-" Lugnut never had a chance to finish his joyful/angry rant as a low level blast from the plasma cannon struck both of them, blasting them free of the doorway.

"Ve're going ve're going! No need to shoot us twice! But he does have perfect aim!"

Megatron had to remind himself, repeatedly, that it would not due to blast the two glitches into worthless piles of scrap metal, not when they were still needed. But just as he thought the ache in processor was fading he was reminded of two other Cons who were currently yelling at one another about oil of all things; he could do without if not for their superb building skills.

"I am surrounded by slagging glitches," he muttered darkly.

* * *

The seeker was, via programming, not a very patient mech. He never admitted that he was, but with each passing klik he could feel more of his patience slipping away. He had been certain that it would take at most a solar cycle or two before the autobrat broke and submitted to him, but he was still refusing. He never realized he had even switched the data cubes so he could relive their latest "sessions", and he was enjoying the moments he thought he was alone.

' _If I had known he was such a type of mech, I would have gone after him sooner,'_ he smirked to himself, ignoring the pained pressure on his cod piece. It would be so easy to take him, to just take what he wanted and be done with it, but he had already invested so much time and effort into this little game, what was a few more breems? He was also determined to be the winner in the end, regardless who he had to hurt in the process.

Bumblebee struggled against his chains but he wasn't sure whether it was to escape, to smash the holovids, or try and force himself to overload. His fans were working on high, desperate to keep his core temperature from rising even more but there was still a heavy coat of condensation along his armor and protoflesh. Gears grinded together and circuits were on the verge of being fried but his optics refused to close as he watched the holovid before him, wishing he was experiencing it once more.

 _ *** Due to the explicit nature of this portion of the chapter, I am complying with FF's NC17 ban and have removed this portion. If you are interested in reading the unedited version, please send me a PM. Thank you. ***_

So deep into their stasis they failed to notice as the AllSpark fragment pulsed with a soft light, the energies of the two bared sparks mingling for several breems more before they withdrew, protective plates and armor sliding close.

Few megacycles later crimson optics slid open, flickering online. The seeker was confused for a moment, unsure where he was or what he had been doing when his processor crashed. Realizing he was not alone he looked down and felt his battle protocols coming online.

' _Wait an astrosecond!'_ His processor was running a bit slow but as it replayed the video feed his battle system shut down. The autobot was still in a deep recharge but he could still feel as he slowly pulled his spike out, making the minibot whine softly, hips twitching. He snapped several images of his captive, covering on various fluids, armor either dented or cracked in some places, scratched in others. The urge to take him was there, to plug his valve with his spike, to fill him with so much coding, make him remember nothing but his designation, to make him his-

He quickly put a halt to those thoughts and reached down and removed the chain from his servos and his neck cables, gently touching the pinkish marks that indicated bruises. He hissed at himself angrily as he quickly drew his servo back. _'What am I doing? He is my prisoner! I shouldn't be acting "kindly" to him!'_ he argued but his spark gave a painful lurch. Ignoring it he moved off the berth, retracing his spike and allowing the cod piece to slide into place but at the last moment he did the same to the yellow speedster and tucked his spike away, letting his own armor plating and interface panel slid close. He also drew him up into his arms and walked off to his own berth. He was going to clean him up, and once he had recharged enough, have his way with him. Perhaps, he would keep him after all—as his personal berth slave.

* * *

Drivers angrily leaned on their horns as they yelled at the drivers in front of them to move, insulting and threats flying through the air. It was rush hour and everyone was anxious to get home but due to ongoing construction traffic was being delayed.

"Geez, you humans sure get mad easily," Bulkhead commented as he drove along one of the access roads, having received a radio confirmation that several exits would be closed due to maintenance work being done and asked drivers to seek alternate routes to their destinations. His human passenger inside said nothing. "Uhh hey look at a Burger Bot! I can just swing over and you can get something to eat-"

"I'm not hungry."

"Oh. O-Okay." H didn't like this quiet Sari, it was so unlike her and it honestly freaked him out. But he knew that she missed their little buddy. He vented as he moved around the row of cars, the traffic lightening up as they headed for the outskirts of the city.

Sari knew he was trying to be helpful but she really didn't have much of an appetite. She also hadn't been sleeping that well and it was starting to show, but when Ultra Magnus has said she wanted her help in finding Bumblebee, she immediately jumped at the chance. She even thanked the big bot for letting her do this and she promised to be on her best behavior. She frowned when the big chinned moron once more insulted her friend and she let him have it.

" _Bumblebee is my best friend and I'm not gonna let some giant over-sized chin jerk talk bad about her!" she snapped angrily. "He's a better autobot that you could ever dream of being!"_

 _Sentinel frowned at the tiny organic but didn't dare get any closer least it sprayed its corrosive acid over his shiny armor plating. "That Bumbler doesn't have any friends, but apparently he's desperate if he chose to be friend with some organic on a dirt-covered planet."_

" _That's it!" She had grabbed her hockey stick and was prepared to beat the living daylights out of the moron when Bulkhead quickly scooped her up. It didn't stop her from insulting him, calling him every name in her book and a few choice words she had heard Ratchet mutter when he had been in a particularly foul mood. Even when Bulkhead walked out she tried throwing her hockey stick at him and screamed when it fell short._

" _You better be thankful I can't shoot acid at you! But I know someone who can so watch it, you stupid glitch!" she shouted at the blue prime as the wrecker transformered and drove away._

"I hate him." She muttered as she folded her arms over the lowered window, burying her face in said arms.

"Uh say what not?" But she didn't answer him. Deciding not to push her he continued driving. So far he and the others had been checking every inch of the city, all of Bee's favorite spots but there was still no trace. Though he did get an angry yelling from the human police captain Fanzone when he mistook his car for his little buddy. Pulling off to a side road he decide to just drive past the abandoned processing area when Sari shouted at him to stop. He immediately put the brake on all six wheels, tires shrieking and cars behind him swerving to keep from hitting him, yelling angrily as they drove around him. "What's wrong? Is it a Decepticon?"

The little girl could only stare down at the key which was glowing. "The AllSpark Key…" She hesitantly touched it as it continued to glow. "Please… help me find my friend." It gave a gentle pulse as it floated from her hand and pointed in the direction of the shutdown processing plants. Sari quickly leaned out the window, ignoring Bulkhead's worries about being careful. "We gotta go over there!"

"Huh? B-But why?"

"Just go that way! I think Bumblebee is in one of those buildings!"

Now Bulkhead wasn't the brightest bulb in the team, and he didn't pretend to understand the AllSpark, but if there was a chance of his little buddy being there then they were going to take it. His tired spun in place as he took off, seatbelts wrapping around Sari safely, listening to her directions even as he sent a comm link to Optimus.

With any luck, they were close to finding their favorite little speedster.

High in the air a large bomber place and a fighter jet flew through the air, watching the Autobots running around. Icy had to remind Lugnut not to go bombing that as it would upset their lord, but Random didn't help when he asked how many bombs it would take to blow up Ultra Magnus.

"One bomb! Two bombs! BOOM!" Random cackled madly, the jet nearly losing altitude.

"Stop your laughing before I drop a bomb on you!" Lugnut snapped. Would Lord Megatron truly mind if he happened to "accidentally" drop one on the glitch?

"Three bombs! BOOM BOOM!"

Oh he really wanted to give him something to laugh at but before he could the jet immediately dove down, heading for a group of buildings that clearly had seen better times. Frowning he flew down and transformed at the last second as Blitzwing did the same, both landing atop what appeared to be an old factory. He was about to demand an explanation when he heard the roar of an engine down below.

"Anything yet, Sari?"

"No but we're close. My Key is growing really bright."

"Autobot!" He was about to jump down and smash the green vehicle into the ground when he was grabbed and slammed on his own aft. Growling he turned to his partner, ready to smash him into the ground but stopped when he finally noticed the tiny human and the glowing key. "An AllSpark fragment!"

"Yes, joo Dummkopf. Remember vhat Lord Megatron said?"

"I remember every word from our glorious leader has ever spoken!"

"Zen ve vait for them to find ze traitor and ze liddle autobot. Once we haff him and ze fragment-"

"I will still get to smash the Autobot, won't I? You're not going to steal my fun!" the big oaf interrupted.

Faceplates shifted as Hothead took over. "Just don't smash ze yellow one or I vill shoot joo myself!" the way the two were arguing it was somewhat of a miracle Bulkhead and Sari didn't notice but then again their focus was on locating their yellow armored friend, hoping that he was alright.

~ To be continued. ~

 **Author's Notes:** (falls back in chair) Sweet baby alive! I am done rewriting this damn chapter! Been working on this on and off for two days and I managed to remember most of it, but I'm still pissed that I lost everything the first time. I swear, though, if this happens again, something is going to be introduced to a sledge hammer.

Now, again due to the oh so wonderful ban of explicit material, this chapter has been shortened. Sorry but again, I don't wanna bee booted off. Now if you wanna read the unedited stuff PM me or better yet, check this out on Archive of Our Own where I am known as BelovedShadow2217.

Also. Halfway writing this I realized something. Not only am I kinda going off-script of the series, I'm still trying to follow it along. What else… oh yeah! Like I said, half-way writing it and doing research I discovered/remembered that Starscream has the AllSpark fragment embedded in his head meaning he function just fine, he's immortal, but he doesn't have a spark. I was like "Crap. Now what?" So for the sake of my story the fragment gave him a kinda artificial spark. Why you may ask? Because if he's gonna be the sire of Bumblebee's sparkling he needs a spark. See, I even did a whole page of notes of how the whole pregnancy thing works from beginning to end. I'm so happy with it! :D

Bumblebee: That's kinda creepy…

Is not! I just like being thorough!

Bumblebee: What happened to winging it?

Oh shut up! And winging it is more fun in RPGs thank you very much. :p

Also, I intended a lot more drama to be going on in this chapter but since my lemony goodness took up so much space, I had to stop here and put the rest of the stuff in the next chapter. Which I hope to get started on soon. And yeah, I know I complained about the jettwins way of speaking and not fully grasping Jazz's wording, but Blitz is the worse! I had to go back and read fanfics of him talking just to get it down and I get headaches! And the way Lugnut keeps praising Megatron like he's the next Primus on Earth—ugh! How have they not killed each other yet?

Lugnut/Blitzwing: Hey!

What else what else… oh yes! I know I made Starscream a bit OOC but it just happened! I don't even know if he's developing feelings for Bee or his conscience grew a pair but it happened and may continue to happen. Also, please vote in the poll I posted in my bio, whoever has the most votes will not only be Bee's mate but determines how the story will end. honest!

Okay peeps, I have to work tomorrow so I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please leave me a review :) Thank you love you bye bye!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** Okay now the drama is unfolding even more! The group is closing in but so are the Decepticons. Now, I believe after the next chapter will bring the whole thing about Bee's nightmare into full circle. So everything from chapter 2 til now has been a kind of prequel of what led up to it.

I hope I dind't confuse anyone ^^ My original idea was to have this story separate from the first chapter but it kinda ran away from me and merged. So here it is!

I wanted to give everyone a heads up about the poll, too! Apparently, you need to log into FF to vote (which bites) so for those of you who want to vote but can't, tell me in a review and I'll add it with the others. These are the results so far:

Optimus Prime: 2

Prowl: 4

Starscream: 3

Other: 1

Wow… You know, part of me is not surprised to see Prowl in the lead so far. Not sure, couldn't really see them together though they kinda remind me of the odd couple but Starscream is slowly catching up (ignores ranting from said seeker). It might change later on but thnxs so far everyone! Please continue to vote though!

Oh yeah! I recently created an account on AO3 where I'm known as BelovedShadow2217 which means, you can read it in its entirety with explicit material! Though, I wouldn't mind having some reviews here as well ^^

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

When Optimus Prime heard that Sari and Bulkhead had found the signature of an AllSpark fragment, he immediately headed for their location. He heard Ultra magnus following after him but didn't bother to slow down and quickly relayed the information to everybot else. Bumblebee was part of his team, he had to make sure he as alright, that he was back with those who cared about him.

 _'I've lost too many bots in this war, I refuse to lose another one!'_ he thought to himself, forcing his engines to the max.

As the Autobots and Elite Guard members pushed themselves, bulkhead was watching as the tiny human female was darting back and forth, looking down at her still glowing key. It seemed like it couldn't decide where to go but it didn't stop her from darting in one direction then another, pausing now and then to stomp her foot.

"Tell me where my best friend is!" she yelled at the glowing item, telling herself she would not cry no matter how much she wanted to. It stopped glowing and she silently fell to her knees; now she did cry, curling her hand around it. Part of her wanted to throw it away, to scream that because of it she had lost everything she ever cared about.

Bulkhead sighed, rubbing his helm but the place was pretty big. He was tempted to check all the building as well or start shouting his little buddy's designation but stopped himself. What if Starscream heard him? What if this was a trap? What if Bee was off-line—permanently?

He quickly shook his helm. No! he absolutely refused to believe that! He was a scrappy little bot, there was no way he was gone! Moving carefully he leaned down and carefully picked up the tiny human in his clawed servos.

"We'll find him, Sari. I know it," he tried to soothe her.

"B-But the key," she sobbed, rubbing at her eyes. The tears refused to stop no matter how much she rubbed at them.

"The key led us here, so he's gotta be here somewhere." He didn't want to admit that the key was more than likely tracking Starscream but if that seeker was here, then so was Bumblebee. Receiving a transmission he vented softly, smiling down at he human. "Optimus and the others are on their way. We should wait until they get here."

"O-O-Okay." The tears were finally slowing down but she gave the green wrecker a weak smile and pressed herself against his chassis, closing her eyes as she felt the warmth of the metal and a gentle hum deep within. "Thanks, Bulkhead." The large bot just smiled and hugged her as carefully as he could.

Blitzwing and Lugnut, having stopped their arguing before they could give away their position, were watching the display with distain. The bomber saw no use for the pitiful organic creatures as they were not worth any amount of attention that wasn't devoted to their glorious leader (had he any to spare) but the triple changer was curious.

"Strange. Ze tiny organic is alvays seen vith ze Autobots," Icy pointed out. "It vould appear, that ze key can locate ze other fragments as vell."

"We should take it now! We will bring honor to the Decepticons and our mighty leader, Megatron himself!" Lugnut declared loudly, failing to notice as Hothead took over hit him in the back of his helm.

"Shut joor mouthplates! Ve're suppose to vait until Starscream reveals himself!" Hothead snapped at him angrily.

"I told you, kick me again and I'll turn you inside out!" he growled at him angrily, optics glowing dangerously.

"I punched joo, Dummkopf!" A whirling sound before the blackened face of Random appeared. "But I can put a 'kick me' sign as a reminder!"

"That's enough!" He would be doing his glorious leader a favor getting rid of such an annoying bot, he didn't need any help in getting the fragments and one puny autobot! Grabbing the con in one servo, he brought the other back and was rewarded with a satisfying sound of his clenched servo smashing into his faceplates. The triple changer went flying back, but before he went flying off the roof the twin guns over his shoulders came down and fired at the bulky bot, causing him to go flying off the roof and into the street below.

Bulkhead immediately used his great bulk to make sure Sari was protected, holding her close as a large cloud of dirt and some debris washed over them. His battle protocols were coming online but he also had to be careful with the human. He could hear yelling that was soon followed by fighting and gun fire so he wisely began to back up as he lifted a servo to his audio receiver.

"Um, bots? I think we've got a situation here."

"We'll be there soon, Bulkhead. Don't move from your location."

"Yeah, that's gonna be kinda a problem here." He nearly jumped out of his frame when something went whizzing by, smashing into the building and causing half of it to collapse down.

"All glory to the fearsome Decepticons!" Lugnut bellowed proudly as he stepped out of the ruined remains of the building. "Megatron will no doubt reward me for getting rid an annoying bot like you!"

Blitzwing pulled himself out, faceplates whirling but he didn't waste anytime as he transformed into a tank and began opening fire. "I'll turn joo into scrapmetal!"

Needless to say, Bulkhead immediately ran from the area while clutching Sari close. "Hurry up, everybot! I've got Blitzwing and Lugnut trying to blow their processors off!" he shouted over the comm link, hoping the two wouldn't turn their attention on him.

Optimus nearly went off the road but his engine was overheating, not able to handle the strain of going so fast for so long. "We're on our way! Prowl, go on ahead and assist Bulkhead!" the Prime ordered.

"Jazz, proceed with caution as well," Ultra Magnus instructed the ninja bot who had been partnered with him, receiving an confirmation. "Jetstorm and Jetfire, go provide aerial cover fire for them. We cannot let Starscream escape this time."

"Sir, yes, sir!" the twin jets responded, thrusters kicking into high as they cut through the air, heading for the location of the distressed wrecker. The autobots were racing as fast as they could, hoping that they would not be too late.

* * *

Starscream wanted to pounce, tp pin him down and frag him until he crashed but there was a persistent buzzing sound that was quickly getting on his sensors and not in a good way. Growling he stilled the moaning speedster on his lap and glared at the security monitors he had set up.

On the screens Lugnut and Blitzwing were tearing through the abandoned factories, not trying in the least to be silent but he could make out the frames of the autobots as they tried to deal with the two idiots. They were clearly out numbers and seemed more intent on blasting each other instead but it also meant his current hideout would no longer be a secret if this continued.

"Time to move to our new home," he mused. He groaned lowly as the yellow bot shifted in his lap, trying to get him to move. His overload was close, eager to fill his tank with his coding, to make him beg for more until he crashed but that would take time and he was not going to be a prisoner to either fraction. Instead he pulled the bot off his spike (both moaning at the loss), sat him on the berth and stood, cleaning himself up quickly.

Bee was confused, his fans still working on high as a light sheen of condensation covered his frame. He didn't need to look down to see his valve was still leaking, his cod piece straining rather painfully. Had he done something wrong? Was the seeker not pleased with his ministrations? He wanted to tell him he would do better, he would do whatever he wanted when he faced him only to wrap the chain around his servos tightly. He never fought him or protested, even as he was pulled to his peds but he whimpered softly as his digits traced his valve, teasing him and causing his hips to buck into them eagerly.

"We'll have to continue this later, my pet," he murmured to him, his own frame growing hot at the sight of his sexy berth slave riding his servo. The urge to frag him tried to take over but he pushed it back and forced his panel close. There was a whimper of want as soft blue optics met glowing crimson, a look of longing begging to be taken. He wanted to reach out and console him, to kiss him and hold him close, but instead he growled and began walking out of the room, roughly pulling the chain and yelling at his prisoner when he stumbled behind him.

* * *

The Autobots had an advantage with their vast numbers, but the two Decepticons were not only strong, they were just a tad unstable. Lugnut alternated in beating Bulkhead, Optimus, and Sentinel, all the while proclaiming his undying loyalty to Megatron. Blitzwing had his servos full dealing with the two Cyber ninjas, and Blurr. Ratchet was trying to get the jettwins online as they had taken a beating from the large purple wrecker one by one, nearly crushing their frames. But he also did not hesitate to blast at Lugnut as well.

"Stop shooting at me, you glitch!" he shouted, tossing Sentinel aside when he used the unsuspecting bot as a shield.

"Stop getting in my vay, joo copper-clad klutz!" Hothead snapped angrily, transforming into a jet as Icy took over. "Ve must deal vith them quickly."

"Now you're not leavin' the party early, are ya?" Jazz grinned as both he and Prowl moved as one, striking the fighter jet with such swift attacks he nearly crashed into the ground. Instead he transformed into a tank once more and began firing everywhere and anywhere.

"I'll destroy joo all!" he fumed angrily. Everyone had no choice but to take cover as the repeated blasts tore through the buildings that were still remaining.

Sari was scared—no, she was terrified! At this rate there wasn't going to be anything left of the area! Luckily they were no where close to the city so no innocent citizens could get hurt, but what if the Decepticons moved the fighting closer? What if her friends got badly hurt and she couldn't save them with her Key? Shaking her head she pushed the terrifying thoughts back and turned to help Ratchet but blinked when the key began glowing and pulled her gently in another direction.

"Huh? But I gotta help Ratchet," she argued, trying to pull back but the key kept pulling her along. She looked up and saw a building that had yet to be destroyed and her eyes widen as realization hit her. _'Bumblebee!'_

"Fraggin' Decepticons, giving me more work to deal with," the medic grumbled as he tried to get Jetfire online. Jetstorm was already up, giving his systems a nanoklik to run through a quick run through and making sure that the medbot and his twin weren't suddenly ambushed. "okay kid, let's use that key and-Sari? Kid?" There was no sign of the human female and he felt his spark just drop. "Sari!"

The small girl was following the key as it kept tugging her along, moving behind the buildings that had yet to be torn down, stopping and hiding when debris came close to either hitting her or when a ped came a bit too close for comfort. She vaguely heard the surly medic shouting her name but the key was no doubt leading her to her friend! She had to find him!

She finally stopped in front of a processing plant that had certainly seen better days, but the key seemed to be glowing erratically, as though the power behind it was dying out. She frowned, shaking it but looked at the building. She and bulkhead hadn't been able to check the building this far out, so what were the odds he was here?

 _'Only one way to find out,'_ she thought and entered.

The plant was empty, empty save for a few dozen spider webs and trash everywhere. It was also dark but she pushed on, thinking to start carrying a flashlight when she accidentally stubbed her foot against a piece of broken machinery.

"Ouch! Stupid thing!" Huffing she kicked it only to regret it as pain raced up her leg, making her gall back on her rear end as she held her throbbing foot in her hands. "Owowow! Stupid—thing!" she hissed, glaring at the item in question. At least no one was here to see her embarrass herself. "Where are you Bee?" she sighed softly, trying not to let her tears take over.

A loud rumble was heard, the rattling of a chain, then harsh whispering. Sari froze, trying to be as quiet as a mouse but it didn't take her long to realize the rumble sounded a great deal like footsteps, the kind that came from giant, walking/talking robots from outer space. Ignoring her still sore foot she moved to her hands and knees and began crawling, making sure to be quiet and to make sure she didn't run into any more machinery. She froze when she heard what sounded like something heavy hitting the ground, a sound she recognized easily enough, followed by cursing as well as a whimper of pain.

"Get up!" the voice hissed angrily, a chain rattling once more followed by another pained whimper. "Start moving or I will drag you out by your leash!"

"S-s-sor-ry…" came another voice, this one even more hushed but also familiar. It was followed by a painful sounding whimper that caused Sari to get to her feet, peering over an old conveyor belt. What she saw made her eyes widen. Bumblebee looked unsteady on his peds, a chain binding his servos together, his normally bright yellow armor dented and covered in what looked like dust and cobwebs, but holding the chain tightly was Starscream, pulling it tightly and tightening his other servo around his neck, squeezing tightly and making the smaller bot let out a painful sound. From the angle she couldn't tell what he was doing as he leaned over him, wings blocking most of Bee's frame from her sight but she knew was he was hurting her best friend. Not caring about her own safety, she scrambled onto the belt and shouted at the seeker as loud as she could.

"Let go of my best friend, you psycho glitch!" Two sets of different color optics shot over to her direction, one in surprise and the other in anger. She didn't focus on the red optics, but part of her wondered why did the blue optics show a look of disbelief. Did he really think she wouldn't come looking for him? She shouted his name when he was thrown to the ground, clearly low on fuel as he struggled to catch himself with his bound servos, but before she could even think of going towards him she jumped off the belt, landing roughly on her hands and knees as a sudden blast blew up the machine, nearly taking her out with it. Her eyes widen as she watched the seeker now pointing his gun at her, an insane look on his face.

"Annoying little pest! But thanks to your key, I can find all the fragments I need and recreate the AllSpark myself!" he sneered, letting the power warm up his null rifle.

She had faced against him before, against the other Decepticons, but even all the times she had been in danger the Autobots were always there to save her. Bumblebee, was always there for her. She tried to get her body to move, to shout, to do something but she was frozen like a deer staring into a pair of really bright headlights.

The scout watched with large optics, trying to wrap his processor around the fact that Sari was here, that she came looking for him. But, she had said she wished she had never meet him?

 _"Hi, I'm Bumblebee!"_

 _"I'm Sari."_

 _"Oh, don't be, I like my name."_

"S-Sari…"

"Say good-bye, annoying pest!"

"Bumblebee!"

" **SARI!** " He ignored all his pain and pleasure receptors flooding his system, scrambling to his peds he charged at the seeker. He was low on everything, his weapons were still disabled, but it didn't stop him from trying. Primus must have been smiling down at him as he took the seeker completely off-guard, sending him flying forward and crashing onto his front with a loud yelp. His null ray gun went off but it missed the tiny human completely, blasting through old machinery and out a wall.

Starscream was less than pleased and he tried to get up but the autobot purposely sat on his back strut, knee joints digging into his wings and trying to keep him pinned. "You'll pay for this!" he seethed, trying to get his gyro-sensors to settle but it crashed when he felt clenched servos strike him in the back of his helm. Oh he was going to make him pay for that as well!

Sari watched with wide eyes, scrambling to her feet but the yellow transformer looked at her and shouted at her to run. She hesitated, wanting to help him, but the seeker managed to get his peds underneath him and activated his thrusters, sending the both of them high into the air where Bee was slammed into the support beams that held the roof up. Any other bot would have fallen off, but the scout wordlessly wrapped his stabilizers around his waist, arms around his neck and covered his optics with his servos, purposely blinding him while holding on for dear life. "Bee-"

"I said run!" he shouted at her. Any pleasure he felt was gone, it disappeared the moment he realized the Decepticon was going to hurt the human girl, his best friend. He ignored the way his servos gripped him, trying to pull him off, curses muffled but he refused to let go as he tried flying around in an unsteady gait in an effort to knock him loose. No bot was going to hurt his friend!

Her feet pounded the ground as she ran for the newly made opening. She could already feel herself panting heavily for air, not used to running this hard. Nearly tripping as she rounded a building, she saw Optimus on the ground, struggling to get up. So focused solely on him as she ran towards him, shouting as she tried to get his attention. "OPTIMUS!"

The red and blue Prime could barely hear her over the fighting but turning he watched as she tried running towards him. "S-Sari! Get somewhere safe-"

"Bumblebee needs help!" she shouted as loud as she could once she realized she had his attention. "H-He's fighting Starscream!"

"What!?" She wordlessly pointed behind her even as he scrambling to his own peds. His equilibrium was still off-line but he forced himself to stand and even run when in the direction she had pointed. In his processor he was shouting the scout's designation, feeling his spark clench tightly in his chassis.

* * *

A lithe frame went flying through the air, slamming into a piece of old machinery and leaving a sizeable dent in it. The supports welded and anchored to the concrete floor kept it from tipping over but the slight give of the metal was only slightly better than the unyielding concrete flooring. Bumblebee groaned lowly, resetting his optics he glared at the seeker as he stood a bit away, wings slightly dented from earlier and one of his optics cracked.

"How dare you stop me from destroying that little pest!" he hissed angrily. Battle protocols demanded he off-line the scout before him but he was barely holding back.

"… I'm not, g-gonna let anyb-bot hurt… S-S-Sari," he forced out. His auto repair would fix his stuttering but he did force himself out of the machinery cradling him, holding onto it when he felt his stabilizers ready to give way under his mass.

"You named that organic vermin?" he scoffed but realization dawned on him, allowing a cruel smirk to grace his lip plates. "Ah yes, I remember it… one of your "so-called friends", but didn't she say she hated you and wished to have never meet you?"

Bee couldn't help but flinch but ignored the video files his processor tried to bring up. "If s-she meant that, then why-why is she he-ere?" he snapped back at him, watching the smirk fall from his faceplates. During the scuffle the chain holding his servos had broken off, and while his protoflesh was bruised he ignored the sting of pain. He was critically low on energy, his battle protocols were at war with his sensors, even his spark was fighting his logic circuitry to submit to the dominant seeker but he could not forgive him for trying to hurt the little human. "Gon-na-na stop you-u."

"Is that so? Looks like I'll just have to teach you some manners when we get to your new home, my little Bee," he said lowly, pointing his gun at him. He wasn't going to off-line him, just enough to put him into stasis. His guns hummed, energy crackling as he took careful aim with his one good optic. He never realized he was alone until he felt a searing pain as the energy axe embedded itself deep into his back strut, creating quite a deep slash that nearly tore a wing off.

"Stay away from him, Starscream!"

"B-B-Boss bot-t?" He was here? Were the others here? Did… did they actually care about him, after all? Was everything he'd seen, was it really a lie that the seeker created? He tried taking a step forward and felt his stabilizer give way, causing him to crash down on his knee joints and servos. Once more warnings moved across his display, telling him he was critically low and if he didn't recharge soon he was going to go into forced stasis. His optics flickered, causing him to try and reset them especially when he heard his designation being called. Onlining his optics he blinked when he saw Sari standing before him, looking at him with concern. "S-Sari-ri?" Well, he wasn't stuttering as much.

"Bee, you're gonna be alright. We're here to rescue you," she smiled and stepped up, prepared to use the key to heal him but she cried out as he quickly grabbed her and rolled to the side just as Optimus was blasted back into the machine that had caught him earlier. This time, the supports broke under his greater mass, hitting the ground with a sound of metal straining.

"This is the last time you autobots interfere in my plans!" the seeker screeched, trying to stay a loft in the air but with one wing badly damaged he couldn't keep steady.

Outside, Lugnut was realizing that he was losing the battle but he refused to go down without a grand finale. Frowning he decided to do the one thing he had been warned before NOT to do.

"For the glory and honor of Lord Megatron and Decepticons everywhere!" he bellowed as loud as he could, transforming from bomber plane into root form, clenched servo cocked back.

"No, vait, you Dummkopf-!"

Too late. The pressure-sensitive pad hit the ground and in a explosive show of power, created a crater that not only buried a grounded Blitzwing, the shockwave was strong enough to thrown all the unsuspecting Autobots back, including Ultra Magnus. The shockwave also struck the surrounding factories, causing them to crumble from the intense pressure—including the carbon processing plant. It was such a mess, debris as far as the eye could see, broken machinery here and there, and the groaning forms of the Autobots as they tried to reset their systems repeatedly. Lugnut looked around and realized what he had done, and it just dawned on him that perhaps this had not been a very thought out idea. He turned as he heard rumble behind him stir and the angry red-face of Hothead stood, glaring at him angrily. "…"

"Lugnut… I've told joo once, I've told joo a thousand times… **Give me some warning before joo use ze punch!** " he was so angry he punched the large Con in the faceplate as hard as he could. "Dummkopf!" His Icy persona took over when he realized the Autobots were slowly getting to their peds and there was no sign of Starscream or the yellow autobot. "Ze Autobots outnumber us five-to-one. Ve should leave now while ve are still able to move."

"Never! I will not run and hide! We are Decepticons! We are proud warriors who serve our Lord Megatron faithfully! It is them who will coward before us!"

"Oh, for spark's sake... **return to base at once!** " Both 'Cons couldn't help but flinch, their audio receivers emitting a high-pitch shriek as the voice of their short-tempered leader order them back, both transforming and taking off into the air a bit shakily but by the time the Autobots were able to stand on their own the two were long gone.

"Oh mech… did someone get the number of that punch?" Bulkhead groaned as he slowly stood though he managed to catch himself before falling onto his aft. Sentinel was muttering to himself about how much filth the organic planet had and how he would need a complete diagnostic scan to make sure he did contract anything. Ratchet ignored him but used his EMP generator to lift some of the heavier debris off everyone.

"That coulda gone better," he muttered as he helped Ultra Magnus to his peds but continued looking around. Slag it, where'd that kid get to?" before the Supreme Commander could ask what he meant Prowl, Jazz, and Blurr were trying to dig at a rather large pile of debris that used to be a processing plant. The Autobots hurried over and began to help in removing more of the heavy debris when they realized they could pick up the signal of both Optimus and Bumblebee. It took a few breems but when they had lifted enough the battered Prime slowly stood, pushing back a large portion of a wall that had fallen atop of him.

"Prime! What the frag happened to ya?" Ratchet demanded but he wordlessly looked down. "Oh kid…!"

Bumblebee was curled up on the ground, off-lined into forced stasis but with his servos held protective to his chassis they could hear Sari crying for him to wake up. Optimus and Ratchet both carefully moved the speedster onto his backplates as Prowl gently pulled his servos down. Sari looked up at them with teary eyes, this not not bothering to wipe them away before turning her attention the yellow bot.

"Sari, are you-"

"I-I'm fine. Bee… Bee, saved me." Moving to the side she watched as part of his helm slid open to reveal the slot for her key. She didn't waste anytime in climbing up and inserted the AllSpark Key, turning it. There was a hum of power and light and everyone watched as his injuries were healed, dents popping out. He was still filthy but as the glow died down everyone seemed to be holding their breathe. Sari was about to turn the key when a low whine was heard and pale blue optics opened, onlining faintly. They looked confused at he sight of the Autobots looking down at him before focusing on the crying human.

"S-Sari… 'ou-okay…?" he asked quietly. She could only nod, smiling weakly as she smudged dirt and tears over her cheek in response. He smiled weakly, coming up to gently hugged her to his frame with one servo but he looked at his teammates with a confused look on his faceplates. 'You mechs… came?"

"'Course we did, little buddy! You're our friend," Bulkhead said with a gentle smile.

"… are we?" More than one bot was taken back by that. What did he mean by that? Before they could ask his optics dimmed then closed, his entire frame going limp. The last thing he saw was a red display warning him of a forced stasis, audios picking up the frantic cries of Sari. He wanted to reassure her that he was fine but he was just too slagging tired... he heard Ratchet say something then he felt himself being lifted against a broad chassis. Part of him wanted to flinch, another part wanted to lean into it, but he quietly let the rest of his system fall into stasis with nary a sound. This time, his processor was silent as he was taken back to what he once thought of as home.

* * *

Ratchet had seen many times during his time as a medbot, most of it learned while on the battlefields, others experiences he had lived through. So when Bumblebee woke up a few mega-cycles later he knew something was immediately wrong.

The scout was quiet, withdrawn, refusing to look anybot in the faceplates much less the optics. He would tense when someone came near him, and he flinched when he touched him but no matter how much he tried to suppress it he could tell. He even flinched when the small human came to his side before picking her up and cradling her carefully. He didn't want to admit it, but he missed his loud, annoying, somewhat obnoxious personality right now. He also refused to allowed him to run a thorough diagnostic scan in case the AllSpark missed something and snapped when Optimus tried to push the issue. That had taken everyone back by surprise.

"For the last time, I said no! I don't need a fragging diagnostic! I've never needed one before, Sari's key took care of my damage, okay!?" His normally sky blue optics were darker, filled with anger and something else no one could explain.

"But, we just want to help," the large green wrecker said quietly only to get yelled at as well, making him freeze in place.

"Stop treating me like I'm a sparkling! I can take care of myself, unless you think I'm gonna show-off and end up running over Sari!" he spat out bitterly.

"I-I never said that."

"Bumblebee, calm down-"

"Shut it, Prowl! You think you're so much better than me, than all of us!" he said as he glared at the black and gold ninja, setting Sari on the berth as he slid off it to advance on him. "I never asked you to be my mentor so back the slag off!" Prowl was frozen and even as Ratchet tried to calm the minibot down he angrily slapped his servo away from him. "Don't fragging touch me!"

"Bumblebee, stop this nonsense at once!" Optimus said with a bit of frustration as he stepped forward and grabbed him by the shoulder joints, missing the panicked look of fear in his optics. "What's gotten into you?"

"Let me go!" he didn't mean for it to happen, he didn't know that when Sari had used the key that his entire system rebooted, everything that Starscream had disabled was back online so when he sent the command to activate his stingers, her servos transformed and he nailed the larger Prime in the chassis as hard as he could. He watched with wide optics as Optimus stumbled back, dropping to his knee joints as he clutched as his chassis. Part of it was burned and everyone was looking at the yellow bot with uncertainty. He, he hadn't meant to hit him, he just… just… Feeling the wheels drop down to the back of his peds, he stormed out of the medbay, ignoring the shocked looks from the Elite Guard in the hall and sped straight into his room. Once inside he slammed the door shut and locked it.

He didn't know what to believe anymore, his processor was getting so many mixed signals, threatening to crash, instead he forced everything into separate files, not having the energy to go through them right now. His system warned him of low fuel and a slight sting in his arm he looked down to see a drop of energon oozing out. He touched it and realized that ratchet must have hooked a drip line into him while he was in stasis.

 _'But why bother if he thinks I'm a worthless glitch? Why did any of them pretend to care?'_ Sari was the only one who cared, she was crying over his safety! He moaned lowly as he felt a powerful ache in his processor but he forced himself to move, climbing onto his berth and laying down, off-lined his optics as they closed. 'I-I'll just take a short recharge… that's all I need…' he set up his chronometer to wake him up in a mega-cycle and then he was out. Unfortunately, his recharge was not without defrags of the dark colored seeker and the sensual torment he suffered at his servos. Thankfully he kept his door locked and after his yelling at his team everybot gave his room a wide berth but still he muffled his moans into his pillow, his cooling fans switching to high as servos grabbed at his frame, a deep purr telling him to open up and take his spike. Just as he was about to accept him his alarm went off and he jerked out of his defrag with a low cry.

He sat in the middle of his berth, trembling slightly, condensation clinging to his frame but looking down as the sheets his trembling grew when he saw that his interface panel had opened up and there was a small pool of lubrication beneath him. He felt so embarrassed having been aroused by his defrag he quickly got off his berth, cleaning it up with a used cleaning cloth he needed to wash later but he couldn't go back to recharge. His system once more warned him of a much-needed recharge but what if his team was still awake? He really didn't want to talk to anybot.

 _'But its late, everyone should be recharging right now,'_ he thought and moving silently, peered out into the hall. The doors to the other rooms were closed and the TV was off in the main room. He moved quietly as he closed his door behind him, slowing down as he walked past Optimus' room. He could hear talking but ignored them as he headed for the energon dispenser. All was quiet as he stood there, sipping from the half filled cube. His tanks stopped rumbling, satisfied that he was finally getting fuel but he winced when his spark began hum loud enough to almost vibrate.

"What's with you?" he asked, gazing down at his chassis. He wasn't sure why, but he felt the strong urge to get out of the factory, to just drive away from here until the vibrations stopped. He tried to ignore it as he finished his cube, that perhaps he was just in desperate need for a recharge but as he set his empty cube down he silently slipped outside, transformed, and sped down the darken streets of Detroit, merging onto the highway and taking the route that led to the outskirts of the city.

* * *

The processing plants and factories were nothing but piles of rubble, those still standing were half gone but it looked like all it would take was a strong breeze to knock them over. So why was he here? Bee wasn't sure but he found himself walking past the piles of rubble, moving forward until he stopped at the plant he had been held captive in. Apparently Starscream had escaped, but he wasn't sure how. The last thing he remembered seeing of him was he had been pretty banged up. He frowned as he reached up to touch his chassis where his spark was humming softly.

 _'Why, do I feel relieved that he wasn't captured?'_ he thought to himself. It was confusing, the fragger tried to kill Sari, kidnapped him, raped him—wait, could he call it rape if he wanted it? He really didn't know and he tried to ignore the throbbing feeling in his valve. _'I should just head back.'_ He turned to leave, to go back to the factory and try to catch at least a mega-cycle of recharge but as he transformed he drove even farther away from the city, pulling off a dirt road and heading for a section of woods, his spark leading him there. He seemed like he was in a daze as he carefully took a dirt road, passing between twins before transforming where he couldn't drive any further. He kept moving further, the light of the moon guiding him until he stopped in a small clearing. Blinking rapidly he looked around but he was completely lost.

"Great. Now I go and get myself lost," he frowned, crossing his servos over his chassis, engine revving angrily. "Stupid spark, why am I out here anyway? I don't do nature!" he argued with himself, trying to remember what direction he had come from.

"I knew you would come."

Bumblebee whirled, holding his stingers together. His entire frame was tense, ready to move in case the seeker got it in his processor to attack him, but he just stood there, leaning back against one of the trees. He was smirking and Bee tried very hard not to see how cool he looked, confident, fragging hot—No! He did not think he was fragging hot! Nor was he going to think about how he made him feel, the way his spike took his valve-!

 _'Stop that! He's the enemy!'_ he told himself and let the charge build up in his stingers. "You're my prisoner now, Starscream!" he yelled at him.

"Is that so, little Bee?" He continued to smirk, watching the way his faceplates heated up. "Are you going to treat me the same way I treated you while you were _my_ prisoner?"

"No! Yes! I-I mean—shut the frag up!" he snapped at him. His processor tried to replay all the memory clips while he had been held captive, the sensations he had gone through, the words said from both sides, the feeling in his spark. "I-I'm not the same bot you took advantage of!"

"If I recall, you gave yourself to me." Still smirking he straightened up and began walking towards him, watching the way his optics grew wide and how he began backing up, ped fall for ped fall. Even when he backed up into a tree he continued but stopped just as he pointed his stingers up at his faceplates. "You're still fighting me."

"O-Of course I am! You're a Decepticon!" It wouldn't take much to strike at him, to knock him out long enough to drag him back to the factory. He would be able to do the one thing Sentinel Prime couldn't do, he would show them all eh was worthy of being an Autobot material—maybe even an Elite Guard! But why wasn't he afraid? Why was his spark practically humming in his chassis? What was this wetness going down his-

Oh.

Oh!

Oh fragging Pitt _no_ …!

The sight of silvery-pink fluid dripping down his shaking stabilizers was not lost on the seeker. Nor did he miss the way his weapons shook or the sound of his engine purring, trying to match the same frequency of his own. Still smirking he reached down, trailing his digits along his interface panel, listening to him keen at the light touch. The charge died down from his stingers, transforming into servos to grip his chassis as he pressed himself forward, rubbing harder at the thin metal.

"You really shouldn't lie to me, or yourself for that matter," he whispered into his receiver. A staticy whine escaped his vocalization but he was arching into his touch as more lubrication slipped free. His spike was pressurizing even more behind his cod piece, making it uncomfortable but the seeker held back. Lowering his helm he took his lip plates in a harsh kiss, swallowing his silent mew of pleasure, thrusting his glossia inside. His engine revved even louder as he felt the panel slide open, allowing his digits to move inside but when he felt his own digits rub at his cod piece he immediately pulled back and moving swiftly, grabbed his servos tightly in his own and slammed him into the ground. He took a klik to growl down at him, watching the way his optics grew wide but he was still highly aroused, frame trembling in response.

"I didn't say you could touch me," he rumbled deeply, leaning down to lick on the small sensory horn atop his helm, smirking as the minibot cried out in pleasure, arching into him then whimpering as he pulled back. "You deserve to be punished."

"P-Please… wan-nt you… ne-ned you…" he panted softly, cooling fans working on high once more but this time he wasn't lying this time. His defrag came back and he felt his cheek ridges heat up as his valve produced even more lubricant.

"You're not lying this time," he purred, licking his audio receiver he slowly sat up, pulling him up with him. He licked and nipped his neck cables, listening to him moan and enjoyed the feeling of his hips pressing into his own. He failed to notice him slipping a pair of stasis cuffs from his subspace, the same pair he had been forced to wear and moving swiftly, slipped them onto the autobot.

It took him a klik or two to realize he couldn't move his servos. He tried to ask Starscream what he had done when he wrapped something around his mouthplates, effectively gagging him before pushing him onto his back plates. He tried to sit up but his optics widen when he felt paralysis slowly moving up from his servos.

"Those are the same stasis cuffs those idiot Elite guards used on me. But it turns out, my AllSpark fragment made them worthless," he smirked down at his bound pet as he ran his servos along his sides, digits tracing over seams as he settled between his stabilizers. "I adjusted the settings so you won't go into full stasis lock, after all, this is your punishment for striking me earlier." Lowering his helm he licked at his neck cables, listening to his whimpering moans and felt his frame tremble in his servos. He even traced the autobot insignia on his chassis with his glossia, enjoying the rather embarrassing squeal the minibot let out. "So fragging sensitive… or, are you picturing my glossia somewhere else?"

 ** _* Due to the explicit portion of this chapter, I am complying with FF's NC17 ban and have removed this portion. If you are interested in reading the unedited version, please send me a PM or refer to my AO3 account. Thank you. *_**

Bumblebee felt weak, as though he hadn't been able to recharge very well but as his optics came online he looked around the small clearing. He was alone, the stasis cuffs were gone, and there was no evidence of interfacing on him but the ground was pretty tore up where he had been fragged into the ground. He didn't know why he felt disappointed as he slowly get up to his peds but he froze when he saw he had an unread message on his comm link from a frequency he did not recognize. Frowning he played it and was shocked to see it was Starscream.

 _"I think you learned your lesson about striking me back, but next time you want me to frag you hard enough to crash your processor, comm me," he smirked haughtily. "I don't have to tell you not to tell anyone, especially your so-called friends, but know this. You are mine, my sweet little Bee. No one will want you as much as I do."_

He felt a mix of arousal and shame filling his processor but the seeker was right. He was the only mech who wanted him even if it was just for a good frag. He knew he should delete the message and block his frequency but he didn't as he headed out of the woods and transformed into vehicle mode. The sun was just starting to rise as he drove back into the city limits of Detroit, his spark humming in his chassis.

~ To be continued. ~

 **Author's Notes:** Ever have a chapter where it ran away from you then you had to go back and fix it twice before it ended up close to what you originally intended? That's what happened here but I'm kinda pleased with it. Now just a quick note, I was gonna try to follow the series timeline but if I did that would kinda throw my story for a loop. It doesn't mean I won't be pulling references from the episodes but I'll try not to rewrite an entire episode, doesn't make any sense.

On that note, leave a review and in case you haven't voted yet, tell me who you want Bee to ultimately end up with! So far from first place to last is Prowl, Starscream, Optimus Prime, and Other. If you pick other, please let me know who you want! See you all laterz!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** (blinks stupidly for a minute) I… forgot what I was gonna say. ^^; To be frank, don't think I was gonna say anything anyway. Well, lemme begin first with the current ranking from reviewers on both FF and AO3:

Prowl: 6

Starscream: 5

Optimus Prime: 3

Other: 3

Again, Prowl is in the lead and again, no surprise. But looky Screamer is catching up! :D That might change as the chapters go on. Oh yes, I remember now! I was trying very hard to follow the series, but I realized too late, some of the episodes seem rushed and I feel like I'm cramming too much into my chapters. So from this point on, I am not following the timeline of the show but I will be referring to events that happen later on (ie. Sentinel getting his aft handed to him by Shockwave). Enjoy!

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

On one servo, Bumblebee could count how many times he had awakened from a forced stasis. But there was a first time he woke up and the first thing to come to his processor was to strike out with his recently activated stingers, yelling at everybot to get away from him, battle mask sliding into place. He stumbled off the berth, holding his stingers together but the fear was very obvious in his optics as he stumbled on his peds, refusing to look away even for an astrosecond. It took him a few kliks to realize it was Ratchet looking him over and he was in the med bay, but his processor was going over what his audio receivers picked up as he was fighting his way from stasis. The medbot was about to do a thorough scan over his entire system as well as go over the data in his processor.

He was going to find out everything he suffered at the hands of Starscream.

 _Everything_.

"Kid-"

"No!"

"Calm down-!"

"You can't make me! I don't want this!"

"Listen to me!"

 **"NO!"** He didn't care if he sounded panicked; he would die if anyone found out what happened! They would off-line him permanently for this, he was certain! He shot out a large zap of electricity at the white and red bot, forcing him to move and immediately sped for the door, wincing as he hit the wall. Static snow filled his optics and he tried to reset them, ignoring the processor ache. Once they were online his optics grew wide as two mechs seemed to appear in the hallway. They looked familiar and their designations were on the tip of his glossia but he twitched, processor showing an error message across his display and when it faded he now saw Thundercracker and Sunstorm in the hallway.

"No… no, you can't be here! He promised me! He told me you were never supposed to come near me!" he shouted at them, vents hitching as he tried to cycle air through his systems but his systems was glitched in several areas at once.

"Bumblebee? Wrong something?" the yellow and white seeker asked as he and the blue-violet seeker slowly took a step towards him.

"S-Stay away!" He never used his stingers at full power, it took a lot of energy but he didn't care as he unleashed it. He wasn't really aiming as he let it loose, the current lighting up the halls so brightly he heard them cry out in pain as the light blinded their optics. Seeing them distract he let the wheels drop down and immediately sped past them, turning the corner sharply and sped into the main room of the factory. He really wished he had retreated to his room instead as he found his own way of escaping blocked.

Continuous error messages flittered across his display, alerting him to damage done to his processor but he didn't have time to sit down and go over his system manually. His optics would snow occasionally, even his receivers were filled with nothing but sharp bursts of static. One moment he would see his team looking at him worriedly, asking if he was alright, and the next thing he saw was Starscream, his multiple clones, and worse—his youngling hood tormentors in full mech plating, all of them smirking and looking at him with cruel intentions in their optics.

"No-no-no, you can't-can't be here! N-N-N-None of you-u-u are he-he-here!" he shouted at them, vocalization breaking up in bursts of static, his spark humming almost violently in his chassis. When they began to advance on him he screamed at them to leave him alone, more static breaking free as he sped around their outstretched servos. One of them managed to sneak up at his side, grabbing him tightly he screamed, making the mech loosen his hold long enough for him to strike him in his stomach plates with an overcharged stinger, sending him flying back.

"Bumblebee, calm down! It's us!" a mech shouted but why did his tormentor have Prowl's voice?

"Le-Leave m-m-me alone-ne!" he shouted, shooting his stingers at every bot that dared to came at him. His tires squealed as he raced around the factory, leaping over the furniture in the living room, using the assembly line like an obstacle course. He was nearly trapped in the communication center until he drove his stingers into the console, causing the machinery to overload and explode. Through the smoke he darted for the door, ignoring the warning that he was dangerously low on energy.

 _'Just out the door and I'm free! I'll hide where they can never find me!'_ he kept repeated them to himself on a continuous loop. He wanted to sob when he saw he was so close, almost tasting the fresh air. Unfortunately a large frame landed in front of it. He immediately put on the brake, turning to take off but the momentum was too great and before he could even think of transforming, he slammed into the larger frame, was caught and pulled against a broad chassis, servos grabbing his arms before he could zap him with his stingers. He didn't care how weak he sounded as he shrieked once more, a high-pitch frequency that hurt even his own audio receivers. He ignored the multiple lines of warnings that made his optics glow red, forcing his transformation if to break free but the mech holding him was so much stronger, lifting him up so his peds violently kicked at the air. "L-L-Let m-me go-o-o-o! I-I'm n-not gi-gi-ving it u-up-p-p! I'm n-not-t-t!"

"Please calm down! We're your friends!" the mech hissed at him but refused to let him go. He tried to move away from the door but the minibot was struggling so hard he was afraid he would hurt himself. "Now Ratchet!"

The red and white mech moved forward, grunting in pain when a ped came up and kick him in the shoulder joint hard enough to snap the delicate wires. Luckily, that wasn't the servo holding the tranquilizer but both Optimus and Bulkhead ran towards their panicked friend and grabbed a stabilizer each, using all their mass to keep him from lashing out once more. The CMO moved closer and with a quick jab, plunged the needle into the neck cables. "There, done!"

"How long will it take before it takes effect?" Optimus asked as he continued to hold the struggling scout, ignoring the painful strikes to his stabilizers.

"Just give it a few kliks. With the way he's been running around, it should spread through his system in no time."

Bee tried to fight it off, spark-tearing sobs escaping clenched denta. He opened his mouth to beg them not to take it but only a weak whine came out. He wasn't aware of the servos releasing him until he felt his peds touch the floor. Pushing away from the larger mech he tried to run to the door, still desperate to escape but instead ran into the framework of a femme.

 _'N-No! Primus please, just let me go!'_ he screamed at the femme, trying to push her away but he was too damn weak. He flinched when he felt gentle servos touch his faceplates, digits brushing over cheek ridges. His own servos shook as he tried to pull them off but a soft voice brought through the static, urging him to open his optics. Slowly, he did; he flinched when he saw Slipstream looking at him but her image was switching with that of another femme and back, his processor struggling to pick the correct image. "… p-p-pl-plea-s-s-s-s-s-e-e-e…" he forced out, wincing as gears grinded sharply against one another.

"Its okay, Bee. No one is going to take anything from you," she said softly, rubbing her digits over the soft ridges, projecting a soothing, non-threatening energy field. "Take your time and listen to my voice… feel my energy field…" She continued to speak softly and slowly, ignoring the other mechs as they watched with concern. Hearing the soft ktching racking his small frame she tenderly wrapped her servos around him, pulling him close so his helm rested on her chassis. "There we go, sweetspark… what do you hear?"

"… y-y-your-r s-s-s-sp-sp-ar-ark…" he stuttered softly, optics dimming as his frame began to feel heavier.

"That's right. Bee… look at me." It was a gentle command and she gently stroked the back of his helm as he slowly looked up at her. "What's my designation?"

"…" he tried to say Slipstream, but the femme in holding him wasn't the turquoise and violet seeker, her frame was aqua blue, and she had wheels, not wings. But it was her pretty blue-green optics that made her stay in his vision. "… P-P-Psy-yc-c-ce…" The gentle smile she gave him made him smile, and that was the last thing he remembered as his system finally gave in and he drifted once more into forced stasis.

All around the base everyone heaved a heavy vent of relief though they were careful not to be too loud. There were some injured but that was the least important detail on their processor right now. They were very concerned about the yellow minibot and wondered: how in the Pitt did everything go so horribly wrong?

* * *

 _One orbital cycle prior…_

It had been just over a deca-cycle since the yellow Autobot scout Bumblebee was taken prisoner by Starscream, former second-in-command of the Decepticon forces, and things were finally returning to normal. Well, as normal as it could be. If anybot noticed anything different about the minibot, they kept it to themselves. Since being rescued from the seeker, and his explosive outburst, the Autobots were beside themselves. Attempts to find out what happened during his imprisonment was met with a cold response of "nothing". When Ultra Magnus asked him about it behind closed doors, he admitted that the seeker tried to get him to help him find AllSpark fragments but that he kept refusing him.

 _"Did he torture you in anyway?" he asked him._

 _Bee was silent for a few kliks before slowly nodding his head. "It was mostly yelling at me, broke my armor, but I kept refusing to help him, sir." That wasn't a total lie, he never promised to help him in anyway but it didn't stop him from seeing him._

 _The Supreme Commander could tell he was hiding something, but all attempts to find out what were unsuccessful. Venting air heavily he nodded and reached out to pat the scout on his shoulder armor but froze when he flinched, immediately pushing himself away from him. The look in his optics spoke of fear, shame, and distress. He wanted even more to ask him what happened, to what brought him to such a state but he could also see that he was stubborn and no doubt refuse to tell him anything, even under direct orders. "… Bumblebee, if there is anything else you wish to discuss, I am willing to listen," he said as gentle as he could._

 _He could feel some of his resolve falling, gently prodding him to tell him the truth, to help him but what if he did? He would see him as a traitor even if he never gave the seeker any information, he would be stripped of everything and certainly be sent back to Cybertron, but he would no doubt be imprisoned, or worse—off-lined permanently. His life would be over before he knew it, and yet he wanted to continue seeing the seeker, to be wanted by him. He held back a wince as he felt his spark ache in his chassis._

 _"Bumblebee?"_

 _Blinking he could see the concern in the Magnus' optics but strengthened the walls of his resolve. He did not care about him; he was just like the others. He thought he was nothing more than a worthless glitch. "I'm fine, sir. Can I go now?"_

 _He looked ready to tell him something before closing up. Sighing he slowly nodded, saluting him in return and walked him to the bridge of the Steel Haven. Once there Bumblebee didn't waste any time in transforming and taking off, not looking back or slowing down as he merged with the ongoing traffic._

Normally the yellow speedster enjoyed driving along the streets of Detroit, the wind brushing over his frame, the sun-warmed asphalt rushing under his tires, the honking of cars and shouting of humans filled his audio receivers, so different from Cybertron but he really enjoyed himself. He would take any opportunity to go for a drive but instead of heading back to the base he drove around town, no set destination in mind before parking in the lot of a Burger Bot.

His processor began going over the discussion with Ultra Magnus and once more he was debating whether he should have told him the truth or not. He didn't know the Magnus all that well, only what everyone other bot knew as the Supreme Commander, the Cybertron Elite Guard leader, and a veteran of the Great War. But then again every bot knew that, even the Decepticons knew him!

 _'I thought I could trust my team but I'm not gonna have another bot laugh at me and call me worthless,'_ he mumbled to himself, venting the air in a heavy sigh. That had been days ago, shortly after he was "rescued" from Starscream. The following day Ultra Magnus was gone along with Jazz and Blurr but he left Sentinel, Jetstorm and Jetfire behind since they were still under orders to locate the traitor known as Wasp. Sure, fine, great, that would have been great except the aftbot got the drop on him and switched their armor and vocalizers! The one time he needed his team, the one time he thought they would redeem themselves in his optics, the one time he thought that maybe Starscream had been lying was for naught. They believed Wasp over him, even when he tried slathering himself in mustard. And what did Sentinel do? He blamed him for letting it happen and Optimus for being unable to tell the difference.

Primus, that aft brought back memories back during his time in boot camp, and they were far from happy. He was eager to track Wasp down himself, but not because he was a Decepticon spy. Because he wanted pay back for the slag he put him through. He wanted him, and Ironhide, and Sentinel, and his teammates to suffer for all the fragging humiliation!

Thankfully he was parked in the lot of the Burger Bot as he felt his fuel pumps stall, energon freezing in his cables as he processed the dark thoughts drifting through his processor. Where were these thoughts coming from? Sure he wanted to show them up; to prove he wasn't the bumbler everybot said he was. And yet, the more he thought about his revenge the more he entertained the ideas. It wasn't much, but everything he suffered he would force them to endure a hundred times worse, would have them be humiliated like he was, make them admit that they were the bumblers and not him. He almost missed the display that he had a new message and was tempted to ignore it until he recognized the frequency. After a few kliks, he opened it.

 _"I know Ultra Magnus left, and I know you didn't tell him anything but I never did reward you for being such an obedient little pet, did I? Meet me at these coordinates… unless, you think you don't need me, my sweet little Bee."_

 _'Starscream…'_ It wasn't natural but his bodywork shuddered as he felt energon coursing through his cables faster than before, fuel pumps racing and temperature rising. If he was in his root form he knew his lubrication would be building. He could ignore it, head back to base and see if Sari wanted to play a video game but instead he headed for the coordinates. He tried not to dwell on it, but his processor was imagining the mention of a reward.

* * *

Optimus was not having a good week, he could feel his oil pressure rising to the point where he knew it would do some severe damage to his system. It appeared that as soon as Ultra Magnus left back for Cybertron—alone—which he understood were from orders by the High Council but there was also the issues he had with Prowl when Ratchet allowed him the use of his EMP generator, a sudden appearance by Lockdown of all mechs, and then the unwelcomed surprise of two lookalike-Starscream clones that were rigged with enough explosive to wipe them out. On top of that, they soon discovered that the seeker had even more clones under his command and made no qualms about attacking them. Things just seemed to spiraling more and more out of control but just when things seemed to calm down he tried to get Bumblebee to spend more time with the team. That hadn't gone well, giving all of them wary glares while mumbling to himself but slowly, he was beginning to come out of his room. He thought he was finally going to trust them then it all went to the Pitt when Wasp invaded their base and switched armor with the speedster.

He should have seen the signs, he should have paid more attention, but no one could have told the difference. And Sentinel still wasn't able to catch him in the end and instead blamed everyone else, including his own mechs. It took both Ratchet and Bulkhead to keep from charging straight at him, but what hurt the most was Bumblebee reverted back to locking himself in his room, rarely coming out and even refused to speak to Sari. And the times he did leave he would take off, ignoring all comm links and made sure his signal was blocked. He had tried following him one day but lost him and hours later was still unable to find him.

"One step forward, two steps backwards," he grumbled to himself, remembering the strange human saying but he couldn't help but think it appropriate right now. "Could this possibly get any worse?" Feeling a strong processor ache forming as he pinched the bridge of his olfactory sensors, as though to keep the ache at bay. It was clearly not working.

Ratchet could tell the younger Prime was beginning the pressure of his duties weigh down on him but said nothing to help ease the burden. "Look Prime, no one said this was gonna be easy but you can't be holding everyone's servo like some sparkling. And you gotta stop letting Sentinel get your cables in a knot; he's a blow-hard fragger and you don't help when you start yelling back."

"I know that, but he makes it nearly impossible when he goes and pulls a glitch move like putting the blame on everyone else instead of taking responsibility," he sighed, deciding that ignoring the ache would be better than fighting it. "I expect something like that from Bumblebee-" As soon as it left his lip plates he regretted it and fell silent, servo dropping to his side.

"I'm worried about him too," the chief medical officer said quietly without his usual gruffness. "He suffered at the servos of Starscream, but us pushing him for answers ain't gonna help. He's got to tell us, and that's if he wants to."

"But he refuses to talk to anyone—again! I'm the leader of this team but what kind of leader am I if I can't help one of my own teammates?" he tried to contain it but the dam was open and he found himself venting to the red and white veteran. "He was never suppose to be there alone, he was suppose to wait for backup. We should have looked for him harder, _I_ should have looked harder! I should have known that Bee was in Wasp's armor, he was trying tell us but I didn't bother to listen."

"You have to stop blaming yourself, nothing is gonna change what happened and living in the past ain't gonna help! Trust me, I know about living in the past and all it's done it make me a bitter old bot who joined the first team to get away from Cybertron!" he snapped. A tense silent filled the air, so thick it could be cut with a laser scalpel. Even now he could feel his own years weighing down on him heavily, enough to make his processor ache. His servo came up and rubbed at the back of his neck cables, trying to rub the tension from them to no avail. Just as he was about to speak they were interrupted by a comm link. It was Sentinel and both mechs vented air heavily through their cycles; they really didn't want to deal with him right now.

"Primus help us…" Optimus mumbled as he accepted the transmission. "What now, Sentinel?" he asked boredly.

"You're lucky I'm in such a good mood right now, or I might have written you up for insubordination," the navy blue mech smirked.

"I don't have time for whatever game you're trying to play," he sighed, ready to end it but stopped when he revealed what appeared to be three occupied prison cells. Prison cells occupied by none other than Blitzwing, one of Starscream's clones, and Swindle who was still sealed in his vehicle mode. Optimus was at a loss for words but Ratchet wasn't.

"How in the Pitt did you manage to bring in three Decepticons!?" he demanded. Blitzwing was as unstable as his moods and he didn't know of anyone currently on Earth able to take the triple-changer down so easily!

"You and your pitiful team can come over and see how a real Prime takes down a Decepticon yourself," he smirked and cut off the communication. Both autobots were silent for several kliks, resetting their optics in case they had really seen three 'Cons captured.

"Did Sentinel, really have Blitzwing in stasis cuffs?" Optimus asked, looking at the veteran with disbelieving optics.

"Looks like it, but I don't trust that glitch as far as I can throw him," he frowned. "Something doesn't feel right… I can feel it in my tank."

"I agree. We should head over and see what this is all about." He quickly set off a message to Prowl and Bulkhead to meet them at Sentinel's temporary base, receiving confirmations but when he tried to send one to Bumblebee he was blocked. "Bumblebee has blocked all communication…"

"Leave the kid a message, though I wouldn't blame him if he didn't come anyway."

"That makes two of us." Stepping away from the communication center they headed for the main doors and transforming as soon as the doors went up, were gone, merging onto the incoming traffic.

* * *

Said autobot was whimpering in a mix of pain and pleasure as the red-violet seeker used him to his spark's content.

 *** Due to the explicit portion of this chapter, I am complying with FF's NC17 ban and have removed this portion. If you are interested in reading the unedited version, please send me a PM or refer to my AO3 account. Thank you. ***

So wrapped up in one another, they failed to notice they were being watched.

Wasp was upset that his plan to make Bumble bot pay failed, to take the lifestyle he clearly stole from him. But that was his mistake, switching their framework wasn't going to do that, oh no. if he wanted the life owed to him, he had to get rid of the bumbler permanently. So he waited and watched him, seeing how he took off from the old factory multiple times, all alone. The first time he noticed he tried following him but the bumbler was too fast so he lost him. So he waited and realized each time we went out alone, he made sure no one was following him and it was always away from the city, far from another organic as well.

 _'Bumble bot real traitor,'_ he hissed to himself, optics narrowing as he watched the seeker clearly interfacing with the minibot. He really didn't care the first time he had seen them together, all he knew was that the yellow mech was the true traitor but he needed proof. So he waited and the next time the bumbler was alone, he followed him. But the more he watched them the faster his system seemed to overheat, enjoying the way the seeker ordered him to suck his spike or teased him into begging for more. He wanted to taste the silvery-pink fluids and see if they were as sweet as the Decepticon claimed, to force the glitch to suck on his spike until he overloaded, to make him beg for his touch, to make him suffer as he suffered.

 _'Wasp make Bumblebot pay for RUINING WASP'S LIFE!'_ he seethed angrily.

* * *

Time seemed to run together and it grew even more when Sentinel Prime was revealed as the fraud that he was. It turned out the 'Cons he had "captured" were the result of an agreement between him and Lockdown. Prowl had been the one to figure it out and of course he got praise and admiration but Bee just felt angrier at eh ninja bot. No matter what he did he was meet with distain to the point where he just didn't care anymore so he withdrew and ultimately found himself seeking Starscream more and more. Pitt, now that Professor Sumdac was back he wasn't spending nearly as much time with Sari either. But what was more surprising was that he ended up spending more time with the jettwins. Maybe it was because they were just a few cycles older than him, maybe it was because being the only pair of seekers in a fraction of nothing but grounders made them stick out, maybe it could do with the fact that he knew part of their coding belonged to Starscream himself.

How did he know? Unlike what his team thought, he wasn't stupid. And his spark tried to reach out to them, something he only ever felt around the former SIC. He even asked them about it and the look of fear in their optics just spoke volumes. He saw himself in their place, and the only thing they had was each other. So he promised to keep their secret and they responded by pulling him into a double-hug, thanking him. They were so lucky he didn't zap them but he refused to tell them anything about his nightly encounters.

 _'I'm hungry.'_ Setting the game vid down he slipped off his berth and out of his room, heading down the hall to the living room. Since Sari was back home with her father and the Elite Guard staying at their base for the time being, they had given the twins her room and Sentinel was sharing quarters with Optimus. That had not gone well in the least but there was no other space for him. Entering the main area he noticed that both Primes were yelling at each other at the communication center. Frowning Bee grabbed a small cube of energon and walked over.

Jetstorm looked over as the minibot made his way over and smiled, waving to him. "Hello Bumblebee! You game beat?" he asked.

"Just needed a break," he said with a nod, sipping at the energon but he frowned slightly. It wasn't what he was looking for, but he did have some wheel nuts in his room. _'But I want something else… didn't Bulkhead said he had some copper wire?'_ That sounded pretty good, actually.

"Bumblebee, sir?" Bee blinked and could see the concerned optics of both jettwins looking at him. "You is being okay?" Jetfire asked.

"Y-Yeah. No prob, Bob." The twins looked at him, clearly confused.

"Is not 'Bob', is Jetfire. That being Jetstorm."

"Nevermind. It's a human thing," he sighed. As nice as the seekers were, they still didn't grasp the human's culture but at least they were willing to learn. The two Primes were still going at it, yelling and trying to pull rank. "What's got them so hot under the plating?" he finally asked.

"Sentinel, sir, want we looking for green bot," Jetfire explained as he gestured to the screen, showing the information of said bot.

"But Optimus, sir, want be looking for seeker, so he not be making more of self," Jetstorm brought up. "Is hard not knowing who original be."

Bee chose to be quiet, refusing to say anything but if he had to be truthful the more time being spend looking for Wasp, the less time would be spend looking for Starscream, giving him more time to spend with the said seeker. He quickly drank some more energon to hide the small smile, his spark fluttered even more rapidly in his chassis. That was another thing, something felt strange lately but he couldn't quite place it. He wanted to go to Ratchet but quickly quelled that idea flat. He would deal with this on his own, just like he'd always done.

"Hate to say it, but Sentinel's got a point. I'd feel a lot safer with Wasp behind bars," Bumblebee remarked with a slight frown.

"That's not your call to make, Bumblebee," Optimus pointed out, missing or ignoring the look of hurt/anger from the smaller mech.

"And it's not your call to make either, Optimus. I'm in command," Sentinel was quick to point out as he jab a digit at his chassis.

"On Cybertron. This planet is my jurisdiction."

"This is a Cybertronian fugitive, and I'll enforce my authority as the… the, uh… Primer Prime!" Did he really just say that?

Sky blue optics widen as he stared at the other Prime with a look that clearly wondered just how stupid the other mech was. "Did you just make that up?!"

"No!" it just happen to slip free before he could process it!

"There's no such thing as a Primer Prime!"

"It's a real term. Look it up," he snapped.

"I'm not gonna look it up!"

"'Fraid I'm right?"

Once more Ratchet found himself muttering that he was really waaay too old for all this slag. And it didn't stop him from marching forward and forcefully holding the two mechs apart. "If you two don't shut ya traps, I'm gonna weld them shut!" he threatened them. They just caught them to yell at each other louder than before, nearly blowing out the CMO's audio receivers.

Snorting Bee wordlessly turned away from them and decided to see if the large green wrecker had any copper or aluminum available. Luckily he was in the middle of painting—something, and let him help himself to what he had available. Bee took a spool of copper wiring, some crushed aluminum cans, and other malleable items. Thanking him he retreated to his room and picking up his game vid, continued playing, pausing now and then to get some of the items and stuffing them in his mouth plates, feeling his hunger finally fade. He never realized he had fallen asleep until he heard the shrill alarm piercing the peaceful night sky. Bee yelped as he fell off his berth, grumbling under his vents he headed out and joined everyone at the communication center.

"Wasp has been located in downtown Detroit! And he's not making any effort to hide himself!" Ratchet pointed out as they watched via monitor as the green minibot purposely destroyed cars parked along the street, shouting as the humans ran from him, screaming in terror. He was also destroying police drones as fast as they appeared, leaving wreckage in his wake.

"What are we waiting for? Autobots-"

"Elite Guard! Move out and track down that traitor!" Sentinel ordered. The jettwins saluted and were off, soon followed by Sentinel. Optimus looked ready to have a spark attack as he transformed and left as well, leaving the others behind.

"Here we go again," bulkhead sighed, slapping his servo over his optics.

"Let's go after them. But if they start acting like glitches and beat the slag outta each other, I'm not fixing them!" Ratchet snapped. Everyone left but Bumblebee waited for almost a full breem before doing the same. He tried not to show his surprise when he saw Prowl was waiting for him just outside.

"Is everything alright?"

"Why do you care?" he snapped, attempting to speed ahead but the motorcycle kept pace with him easily enough.

"Regardless of what you may think, I do care about your, Bumblebee. I consider you my friend, and I know I may come off as aloof, but ever sense we came to this planet… I've never felt as connected as before."

It would be so easy for him to say something really mean, that he still acted like a grade-A aft to him, telling him what to do without asking him but he held it in. "So what're you trying to say?"

"Something happened and while I respect your wishes not to talk about it, I am here for you regardless. It is what friends do for one another, is it not?"

"… whatever you say, ninja bot." Maybe, he really did care about him in his own Prowl-like way. Revving his engine the two of them sped along to the location.

A mega-cycle later found all the autobots standing at the docks surrounding Lake Eerie, staring at the island miles away. They had Wasp surrounded and Bumblebee tried talking to him, to get him to turn himself in but he refused to listen. Then the Primes had to start arguing with each other, causing Wasp to escape and the others to give chase. But then for some strange reason, Swoop came flying in and took off with the cursing mech. They followed him as far as they could until they reached the docks. Sentinel was not happy and wordlessly ordered the jettwins to follow after them to Dinobot Island.

"Sentinel, will you listen for a nanoklik?!" Optimus yelled at eh big-chinned mech.

"I don't take orders from a drop out! So shut it, or else!" he yelled back.

"At this rate we'll never get anything done," prowl said with a slight frown. Could these two mechs do nothing but fight each other?

"Mechs, who we gonna get over to Dinobot Island anyway? Last I checked, we can't drive on water," Bulkhead pointed out.

"We'll just have to do what we did last time." The group wordlessly looked at a small cargo ship docked nearby. Not the most pleasant way to travel, but it was all they had at the moment. Even as the group slowly made their way to large island, a figure high in the sky was watching them, safely hidden by the planet's clouds and darkness.

"What are they doing?" a femme asked, confusion and curiosity in her tone.

"It would appear, they are making attempts to travel to the land mass locating in the middle of the liquid," a mech replied, pausing for a few kliks as he accessed the planet's communication center. "Ah, the natives call it North Sister Island."

"Then why are they heading for it? Let's go on ahead, but make sure to keep a low profile. I don't want them to know we're here just yet." The mech said nothing as he headed for the island, thrusters silent as he used the cover of night to shield his presence.

* * *

Wasp—no, now he was Waspinator. He was larger, faster, stronger! He was a techno-organic but that meant he would be able to payback all the bots who had wronged him. Especially the yellow one. Buzzing angrily he flew around the island, not caring where the dim-bulb Dinobots were at but seeing a vast blast of fire he hear the unmistakable sounds of gears and plates shifting, transforming.

 _'Bumble bot…'_ It was him, he knew it and flew in the direction of the fighting. Sure enough he saw the aft-chinned glitch fighting with the same autobots that had tried to capture him earlier. They were dealing with the immense strength of the Dinobots as the two seekers tried to deal with the flying bot in the skies. He could take out the idiot _Minor_ , get back at him for the Pitt he put him through but a flash of yellow made him hold back.

Bumblebee skidded along the soft ground, trying very hard not to trip but he distracted Snarl long enough for Ratchet to tend to Prowl's previous injury.

"Can you bots stop trying to trample us for like, two nanokliks!?" he snapped, watching the sharp horns he quickly jumped into the air, clinging to the branches of the tree and held on as the triceratops slammed into it. He knew it wasn't right but he couldn't help but laugh a bit when the unfortunate bot tried to pull back but failed to realize his horns were good and stuck and no amount of tugging was getting them free. "Well, that's one way to get you to stop!"

"Kid! We need an extra pair of servos here!" Ratchet yelled over. Now that Bulkhead was up and operational and one Dinobot down, they only had to worry about Grimlock and Swoop. For that matter…

"Where'd Optimus go?" For that matter, where the Pitt was Sentinel as well?

"The both of them took off after Blackarachnia! Now get your aft in gear and led me a servo!" The medic snapped, aiming his EMP generator at the roaring t-rex only to go flying through the air and smacked into a large boulder, courtesy of a long tail.

"Docbot!" The yellow mech jumped free of the branches, servos transforming into stingers, aiming for the large mech but he never had a chance. The only warning he could was a loud buzzing as six pairs of really skinny legs grabbed him from behind and flew off, away from his teammates. "H-Hey! Lemme go!" he shouted and was prepared to sting the fragger when he yelped as something sharp struck him. "Ow! What the… frag…!" Why did his stabilizers feel so heavy? His system warned him that he was falling into full-stasis and he could feel circuits freezing up, joints locking in place, even his comm link was registering nothing but static.

Prowl reached for more shurikens, wishing Grimlock would listen to him but hearing the worried shouts of both Ratchet and bulkhead he looked up and watched a very large insect carrying a yellow minibot far from the group. "Bumblebee!" he shouted and made to go after him but winced as a tree slammed into him. Snarl had enough and managed to rip the tree straight from the ground, shaking his helm as hard as he could he managed to shake it off then transformed and tree the splintered piece of lumber at the Cyber Ninja. No one was able to go after the large insect, their servos full dealing with the Dinobots but still they tried. They had lost him once, and they were determined not to lose him again.

* * *

Waspinator flew to nearly to the other side of the island, keeping an optic open in case those annoying seekers tried following him. No one was following him and he smirked. He flew lower, coming across a small clearing and dropped the paralysis autobot to the ground. There was a slightly pained grunt as he landed but he took his own time to transform and land. His new ability allowed him to temporarily inject a paralytic into anybot he stung, and with Bumble bot being so small, it worked much faster.

"Now Wazzpinator will make Bumble bot pay," he hissed angrily, slowly walking towards the bot.

 _'C'mon, move!'_ Bee snapped at his system, trying to bring his servos under his frame to push himself up but he yelped as a clawed servo gripped his shoulder and slammed him onto his back plates. Waiting for his equilibrium to reset his optics widen as he caught sight of the massive green striped bug looming over him. "Wha... W-Wasp? Izzat... what happened to you?" What the Pitt did that spider do to him?

"Zzpider bot make Wazzp zztronger. Wazzp gone, now Wazzpinator!" he buzzed angrily and roughly pinned his upper frame into the ground, wings buzzing angrily as he peered down at the blue optics. "Wazzpinator knowzz truth... Bumble bot real zzpy to Decepticonzz."

"I'm no spy! Did whatever machine do to you fry your processor, or something?!" His digits twitched but he could feel some of his nerve sensors coming online. If he could get the bug to lower his guard long enough for him to get full mobility, then he could probably take him! Or try and trap him like he did with Snarl. "Y-You're the spy! Back at autoboot camp, I found a Decepticon communicator in _your_ locker!"

"not mine, Bumbler!" he said angrily, slamming him into the ground, striking his helm on the unforgiving ground. "Not matter now. Wazzpinator knowzz truth. Zzaw Bumbler with Decepticon."

The yellow bot didn't need to be a space bridge engineer to know what the buzzing bug meant by that and he felt his fuel pumps stall, vents stuttering. He tried to push the organic form off him but he was still too damn weak. "Y-You need your optics checked, Wasp! I wasn't with any 'Con so—get off!"

Buzzing angrily Waspinator once more slammed him into the ground, raising his stinger threateningly. He wanted to sting him but for what he had planned, he wanted the traitor to still be moving. To make sure he didn't move he wrapped a four digit-servo around his neck cables, tightening as a warning. "Bumble bot lie, but Wazzpinator knowzz what he zzaw." Lowering his helm his mandibles clicked and his glossia slipped out, licking at one of the bot's small horns. He clicked happily at the suppressed cry but he could tell his frame was beginning to heat up. "Zzeeker right… Bumble bot pleazzure drone…" he buzzed as he continued to taste him, feeling his frame heat up even more.

Those words pierced his pleasurable haze and against his logic circuitry, he stopped struggling. "W-What do you mean?" Instead of responding with words he felt a data port enter a slot at the back of his helm, causing a small screen to appear in his display. It was from Wasp's point-of-view and he was talking with Starscream.

 _"Bumble bot ruin Wasp's life cycle! Wasp destroy Bumble bot!" he hissed angrily._

 _"Why would I do that when I can destroy you so easily?" he sneered, his arm mounted gun humming to life._

 _"Wasp knows truth, Bumbler real spy! Frame Wasp, make him suffer in autobot prison!"_

 _Starscream would never admit he was confused by the way the glitchy mech spoke, but it took him a few kliks to process what he was talking about. He smirked and couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Y-You really think that minibot is the real spy!? How absurd!" he chortled._

 _Wasp did not like being laughed at and felt his own stingers light up but he held in the urge to charge at the cackling flier. "Wasp knows truth!"_

 _"The only truth you know of there_ is _a spy within your ranks. A spy so well hidden, he's right under Ultra Magnus's olfactory sensors." Seeing how he had the green bot's attention he continued, crossing his servos across his chassis. "I should just tell you who it is… but it'll be more fun when you autodimbulbs find out who it is. As for the minibot, he's my personal berth warmer."_

 _'No… he-he doesn't mean that…'_ Bumblebee thought to himself but the uncaring, smirking look on the seeker's faceplates said it all.

 _"Bumbler not spy… but sent Wasp to prison. Wasp destroy Bumble bot!" the glitching bot snapped, revenge his primary directive._

 _"You can have the annoying glitch once I've grown tired of him. He makes for a good frag but I could get similar results from a pleasure drone."_

"I-It's not true…" Bumblebee whispered as the data port pulled out but the memory file had been copied into his processor. "S-Starscream… he wouldn't…" He cared about him, he said he was useful! That he wanted him! But was that what this all was, a big lie from the very beginning? He didn't realize the green organic servos were touching him until he felt them sliding over his chassis, digging into seams as his smaller servos roamed over his bared protoflesh, lightly scratching at eh sensitive metal. "N-No! Please, stop!"

"Zzeeker touch Bumbler, Bumbler enjoy. Now it Wazzpinator turn," he clicked as he continued to touch him, smirking when he felt his frame almost burning to the touch, the sound of his cooling fans kicking on high. He could also smell something sweet coming from between his stabilizers, making him very hungry for a taste.

No, he was not heating up at the touch of this—bug! Only Starscream could do this to him but his system was responding just the same; his touch was painful, invasive, but he could feel lubrication filling his valve, his pelvic armor struggling to keep it contained he brought his stabilizers together, fighting the green limb from forcing them open but he cried out when a servo roughly groped his interface panel, trying to force it open. "No! L-Leave me alone!" he struggled even harder, wanting to cheer when he managed to get a good kick into the techno-organic but cried out as he felt him sting him again. Once more he felt paralysis fill his frame, freezing his limbs but it wasn't enough to quell his sensory network completely. He whimpered as his interface panel was forced open, lubrication spilling freely.

"Bumble bot ruin Wazzp's life cycle. Now Wazzpinator ruinzz Bumble bot'zz life cycle!" he proclaimed, ready to let his own cod piece slide open and make the yellow bot scream out his designation.

"The mech said no, you fragger!"

"Wh-?!" The techno-organic never had a chance to see who had shouted as he sat up long enough for something to slam into his helm with so much force, he was sent flying off the yellow bot and into the rock face. Half his faceplates had been smashed in, one of his optics shattered and his frame was comically bent in half from where he landed, a ped twitching as he lay, completely off-lined. Faint energy cackled over the deep dent and it was very much obvious that the bug was not going to be getting up anytime soon.

Bumblebee tried to stop the trembling in his system but he still couldn't move. He flinched when he felt servos on him but instead of groping him they grabbed him at his shoulder plates and pulled him into a sitting position. "P-Please… do-do-don't…" he stuttered softly, refusing to look up.

"It's okay, I'm just here to help you," the transformer said. When Bee looked up he was shocked to see that his rescuer was a femme with a pretty aqua blue frame work and light silver under-plating. She was slightly bulkier than some femmes he had seen, and her optics shifted from blue to green, depending on the light. "Lemme guess, paralysis?" he could only nod to which she sighed, frowning slightly. "Okay, I have to trick your system into resetting so bear with me for a few kliks, but I'll have to plug my data port in, okay?"

He was really tired of bots messing with his processor but this femme was asking for his permission, wanting to help. _'Why should I trust her?'_ he argued but right now, it was either her or wait for it to wear off and run the risk of bug bot waking up and raping him. He chose the safest option and nodded, feeling her plug into his port. "Who ar-are you?" he asked, looking up at her.

The femme smiled softly, keeping her servos on his shoulder guards she looked into his optics. "Just call me Psyche for now. And I'm here to help you, Bumblebee."

~To be continued…~

 **Author's Notes:** I would have rather 'Bee never find out that 'Screamer was using him, but he was. That dimwit has always been a manipulative ass and it's not gonna stop anytime soon. I have more planned, but at the rate that this chapter was going, it more than likely woulda extended to like 30 pages so I figure split it in half.

Two notes I want to point out, in the beginning where Bee is freaking out, it will be explained in the next chapter as well as the femme called Psyche. I hope I didn't confuse anyone but rest assured, everything will eventually be explained. Also, the femme is an OC of mine but since I have never imaged her as a transformer, I would like some help with her name—or should I just leave it as Psyche? I don't want to give out too much but here is what I can tell you right now:

She goes by the nickname Psyche, she's a counselor/psychologist who specializes in treating bots with severe mental trauma like Rung. (Now sure, these guys are robots, why not erase the event and be done with it. I don't want to do that, I want them to keep their human-ish aspects and personalities.) She knows when a gentle hand is needed, but she's not afraid to smack the living scrap outta someone as well. She also works on a neutral planet and treats any bot that needs her help, regardless if they are Autobots or Decepticons, and screw anyone that tries to get her to stop helping those in need. She's also a grounder, meaning she has a vehicle mode which will be described next chapter.

I'll try to have the next chapter up by the weekend but no promises. I can tell you think, Bee finds out why he has these weird food cravings and confronts Starscream about what Waspinator showed him. No, this will not end well for our adorable minibot.

I wanna a minibot plushie!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** Little down that no one reviewed the last chapter, but I'm determined to see this story finish. So first let's begin with the current rankings:

Prowl: 7

Starscream: 9

Optimus Prime: 2

Other: 3

And now in first place is Starscream! I am happy about this but I think that may change once you read this chapter so sorry in advance! As for other someone suggested Bulkhead (I can picture him being like super careful with a tiny sparkling and being one of those really protective/paranoid relatives ^^).

In this chapter will have more introductions between the femme called Psyche and hopefully, a favorite you G1 fans will remember and, hopefully, enjoy. I also have another question I want to ask everyone but I'll post it in the end. So, on with the show-er, story!

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

 _Previously…_

 _Optimus and his team were forced to work with Sentinel in order to capture Wasp, who had been declared a Decepticon spy. Their chase led them to Dinobot Island where they were forced to fight against the territorial Dinobots as both Primes went to deal with techno-organic Blackarachnia. Bumblebee was kidnapped by newly created techno-organic Waspinator, who wanted revenge, only to be saved_ _by a mysterious femme who called herself Psyche._

 _Now, onto our story…_

* * *

 _(Just after Bumblebee was kidnapped by Waspinator…)_

 _'_ _I_ _ **really**_ _hate organics!'_

It didn't matter that this mutated freak used to be Elita-1, she went off-line over twelve vorns ago. This—thing, was not her and could never be her! "I never knew, never imagined that something this... unspeakable could have happened to you. How can you even live like that?! It's horrible! It's disgusting!"

"Okay, okay, I get it! It's bad, but it's not that bad, all right?!" Geez, was he always this much of an aft?

"No. It's worse. You should have gone offline." Bringing up his lance he held his shield before him as well, narrowing his optics at her. "Looks like I'll have to offline you myself."

"You really think you can stop me? If any good came from this, it's so I can get my revenge against you and Optimus!" she hissed. She didn't know why she thought she could get him to admit to leaving her behind, but now that he was here she was going to make them pay! Transforming she hissed and had the satisfaction of seeing the almighty Sentinel tremble like a frightened sparkling. "Time to die!"

Optics widen and he brought up the shield just in time, bracing himself behind it. He couldn't help but flinch as he watched the way the fangs tried to pierce his only line of defense. Pushing back he swung his lance up, giving her a hard smack into the side and knocking her off but he was taken back when his lance was yanked from his hand by a sticky, white substance. "Slag it!"

"Nice try but I remember all your little tricks," she hissed, flinging his lance far from him. Moving along the walls, shooting her sticky webbing at him, she could care less that the green bot had left as soon as his transformation was complete, but as she continued fighting the big-chinned Autobot realization struck her. She would use him to further her study on how to turn her back to normal! Having knocked him flat on his aft, shield sliding away, she struck and smirked as she sank her claws into him and absorbed his ability.

Optimus ran as fast as he could, fueled by the screams of Sentinel. Running into the laboratory he halted as he watched Blackarachnia drained Sentinels energy, leaving him a weak, moaning mess. "Elita, stop!"

"Optimus… looks like I just gained another subject to experiment on," she smirked. Slowly standing from the prone form of the blue bot. As he took a step forward she immediately held her servo out, the energy lance coming to hand and pointed the tip at the downed mech, optics narrowed. "One more step, and he gets a new hole in his helm," she warned.

"Let him go, Blackarachnia."

"Why should I?"

"Because… I'm the one who left you behind. Sentinel's not the one to blame for what you look like."

"What I look like is only half the story. What I am is a lot more complicated."

* * *

Grimlock roared as he unleashed another blast of fire, scorching the local plant life around them. The air was rapidly being filled with smoke, making their photocells irritated. Jetstorm was working hard on clearing the air to help the Autobots while Jetfire dealt with the flying Dinobot, but even with two against one the odds were not in their favor.

The pteranodon shrieked as he dove down and slashed at Jetstorm's wings from above, having used the night sky as coverage. The unfortunate jet never heard him coming and was completely unprepared as the sharp talons tore through the metal plating, ripping up wires and causing him to swerve uncontrollably. The Dinobot watched as the blue jet crashed down, crying out in triumph.

"Brother!" Jetfire knew the instant his brother was attacked, feeling the pain over their bond. He had to help him but he was taken back when a blast of fire hit him dead on. "Ngh!" It hurt, sensors alerting him to the danger but before he could try and absorb the fire he cried out in pain as he felt something sharp tearing into his wing.

"Let him go!" Bulkhead shouted, hurling his wrecking ball into the Dinobot leader, causing him to let the Elite Guard go. The large dino went down with a roar, struggling to get up but the green wrecker didn't give him a chance as he swung his wrecking ball once more, this time hitting the rocky wall and causing a small avalanche to fall on him. "And stay down!"

Ratchet struggled to remain online, but his processor was slightly damaged from the sudden tail slap. Every time he tried to get up he would crash to the ground, as though his peds and stabilizers refused to bear his own mass. He had tried bracing himself against the boulder he had been thrown into but it would appear that his equilibrium sensors had been damaged, making him so unstable even standing still he felt ready to crash to the ground. _'Fragging perfect, what else could go wrong?'_ he snapped angrily.

Prowl liked to think things through, he liked to be organized and precise, to think of his actions before doing. But he wanted to go after the giant bug that flew off with Bumblebee, he wanted to bring him back to Detroit, he wanted him safe and trusting them once more. And if these Dinobots were going to stop them, then he was done being one with nature. He tried to take the flying Dinobot down, throwing shuriken after shuriken at him, but the bot was quick to dart in and out the plumes of smoke. Around them the fire was still growing and he could feel his internal fans kicking on, attempting to cool down his heating frame.

"Hey mechs! We're getting beaten out here!" Bulkhead shouted, peering into the crackling flames and smoke but it was getting difficult to make out anything. Rubbing at his optics he peered out only to grunt in pain as he felt a heavy mass slam into him, his back plates shattered the trees as the large bot continued pushing him until he hit the rocky face of the crater. He was slammed into it two more times and everything went dark when he felt heavy rocks slam into his helm, knocking him off-line in the process.

Grimlock growled as he glared at the downed wrecker. "Now me Grimlock say you stay down!"

Things were not looking good for the team, beaten down and injured, the entire crater was going to be nothing but a massive blaze if they couldn't contain it. Prowl could feel parts of his system shutting down, unable to deal with the heat as the three Dinobots surrounded him. The look in their optics, no amount of talking would save him or his team this time. And he still didn't know where that giant bug had taken Bumblebee. He had failed so many times… he felt his stabilizers fold under him, dropping onto his knee joints.

 _'_ _I'm sorry…'_ he whispered, waiting for the unenviable end.

A large plane swooped low, cargo door opening as it released hundreds of gallons of water. Flying in a maneuver no human pilot could manage it flew in circles over the crater, causing it to rain down on the forest fire down below. The fires sizzled but with the downpour they were slowly being smothered until finally, it was gone, leaving only blacked trees and scorch earth.

"Hmm? Why wet stuff falling from sky?" Grimlock asked, looking up at the sky for an answer.

"Me not know," the flying bot said, peering up at the sky along with his brothers. None of them hear something whizzing through the air until something struck him in the back of his helm, causing him to squawk as he crashed to the ground. An unknown electrical charge fried some of his system and he was off-line.

The Cyber Ninja was confused but as the human saying went "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth". He would only have one chance at this so he had to make it count. Silently moving to his peds in a crotched position, he jumped back and unleashed his shurikens at the slow moving triceratops. It had the desired effect of catching his attention, making him growl and charge at him but a large grappling claw came down and latching onto his back plates, hauled him high into the air.

"Me flying!" he shouted as he was pulled higher into the air until he couldn't be seen.

Grimlock was a simple mech, he didn't understand a lot, and he got upset over the tiniest thing. But watching one of his Dinobots getting struck from behind and another flying away, he was not happy. Turning to the small bot he growled and held his flaming sword up, optics narrowed. "Me Grimlock, destroy you!" he shouted.

"Incoming!"

"Huh?" The slow-processed Dinobot paused in his charge and looking up, did not like what he saw as the rapidly falling frame of his brother was heading straight for him. "Uh-oh." Needless to say the resulting crash was not only painful to hear, but watch as the triceratops crash landed on the tyrannosaurus rex, kicking up a cloud of dirt and ashes, blinding optics and clogging filters. Prowl was tense, waiting for the air to settle he saw that both Dinobots were off-line, due to the sudden and heavy impact. But that still left a question of who came to his rescue-

"Prowl!"

Wait, he knew that voice! Slowly standing he nearly fell backwards as a yellow blur raced at him from the shadow of the trees and attached itself to his frame; still beaten and completely unprepared, the cyber ninja fell back onto his aft but his servos came up and immediately wrapped themselves around the trembling frame of the scout. "B-Bumblebee?" He was alright! He was safe! He wanted to ask him if the bug did anything to him but the way he was trembling, clinging to him tightly, he held his glossia and tightened his servos around him.

There was the sound of leaves rustling and an aqua blue femme came out of the tree line as a large plane flew down, shocking everyone as he transformed at the last moment and landed with a heavy thud. They said nothing as the large mech went to remove the rocks and heavy stones that had buried the green wrecker and the femme went to assist Ratchet who was still trying to deal with his equilibrium.

"You got yourself in a fine mess," the femme vented, grabbing the medic's servos and holding him steady when his larger frame threaten to topple over. "Ratch, focus on me."

"What do ya think I'm doing?" he snapped, optics shuddering a few times. Everything felt terrible and he could almost taste the static. Cycling the air through his system he could feel his self-repair trying to assist with his balance but hopefully it would be enough until he was able to get back to the base. Looking at the bot next to him it took him a few nanokliks to focus and when he did he gave her a small and sincere smile. "So, you came after all."

The femme smiled, nodding to him. "You said you needed help, so here I am." She looked up as the large mech slowly walked over, gently setting the injured twin jets down. "Nice job taking care of the fire, Skyfire."

The mech was pretty damn big, both in height and width, his armor plating a gleaming white with bright red accent, as well as a bit of blue. "You know I do not believe in fighting, Psyche, but I do not believe in unnecessary damage, either," he said calmly. Without being asked or told he began to tend to Jetstorm's damages, his large servos moving with precise movement and grace, as though he had prior training.

Psyche helped Ratchet move closer to his team, setting him down. Making sure he was alright she moved over to where Bee was still clinging to Prowl and slowly reached out, brushing her digits over his arm, waiting until he looked at her before speaking. "You're safe now, Bee. We'll be back home soon, okay?" she said softly.

He nodded, not saying anything but he did loosen his hold on the black and gold mech, looking at his friend but his optics grew wide when he noticed two mechs missing. "Where's boss bot? And the other one?"

Psyche frowned but looked at the sitting mech in question. "You're missing two more members?"

"They went after Blackarachnia, in a secret laboratory here on the island," he said quickly. When the femme made to get up both he and Bee reached out and grabbed her servos to keep her from going after them. "Wait, Blackarachnia is not like us, she's a techno-organic."

"She's like Wasp-Waspinator," bee stuttered slightly. "She'll try to destroy you!"

She wanted to argue she didn't care but seeing the panicked look in the minibot's optics made her cycle air softly. "Then, let's get off this island as of one deca-cycle ago." With Bee's help they pulled Prowl to his peds. The large green wrecker was able to move on his own, some dings and dents marring his frame but at least he was able to transform. Moving to the medic she helped him up and turned to her friend. "Skyfire, we're leaving!"

"I'm almost done," he said, carefully welding the piece of scrap metal he had in his subspace for a temporarily hold on the blue jet. The orange jet had a damaged wing but he wasn't as bad at the other.

"Carry them if you have to, but we're leaving now!" she ordered and began moving. The large mech vented softly in the form of a sigh, quickly finishing the temporarily weld. The two were able to move, slowly, but he turned back to the downed Dinobots and realized, he could not leave them behind.

* * *

Optimus grunted as he nearly dragged Sentinel out of the laboratory, his system warning him of low energy but he had no time to rest. It was a sweet relief to see the local fauna; hopefully it would give them some better coverage.

"C'mon Sentinel, we have to keep moving," he grunted. Why did this mech have to weight so fragging much?

"S-S-Shut-t u-up," the blue and grey mech stuttered, trying to get his peds moving but his joints kept locking up on him. "I s-still can't be-be-lieve you did-did-didn't tell-l-l me, abo-bout her!"

"I wanted to, but I doubt you would have listened," he grunted. "You never listen…"

"W-W-What was th-that?"

"Nothing."

"No, th-that!"

The red, blue, and white mech looked up and his optics widened when he saw a very large flying insect in front of them. He knew this thing wasn't a native of the planet; for one thing it was roughly the size of a small vehicle! And there was an unnatural charge about it. As it transformed his optics widen even more and he could feel Sentinel stiffen next to him.

"W-W-Wasp-p?"

"It Wazzpinator now, sarg bot!" he buzzed angrily. When he awoke there was no sign of bumble bot and his helm hurt. But when he tried to go looking for the yellow bumbler he felt as though he couldn't control his system and ended up crashing into everything. Surely spider lady could help him! But now the big-chinned glitched that kicked him out of boot camp was here! "Wazzpinator make Bumble bot pay, but now make sarg bot pay!" he buzzed angrily.

"Bumblebee… what have you done to him?!" Optimus demanded. If he harmed the minibot, to the Pitt with what Sentinel said or did, he was going to exterminate this bug himself!

Waspinator ignored him and was prepared to strike but the charge caused him to twitch and the next thing he knew, he flew straight ahead and rammed helm first into the rock wall. That hurt, a lot! He tried to get his systems to listen to him but he crashed into the ground several yards away, transforming at eh last moment. "Zz-zzomething wrong, with-zz- Wazzpinator-zz," he buzzed weakly, now struggling to get up.

"That energy field…" Why was he projecting transwarp energy? He still wanted answers about Bumblebee but if he went after him he would be subjected to the mercy of him _and_ Blackarachnia. And he had to help Sentinel, as much as he really disliked the mech right now. "We have to go, now."

"N-Not without-out Wasp-p-p," he hissed,

"For Primus' sake, move your aft, Sentinel!" he snapped and was ready to just transform and drag the mech behind him but froze when he heard a chilling, mocking laughter behind them. "Slag it!"

"I didn't think you knew how to curse, Optimus," the deadly fembot chuckled, slowly making her way out of the tunnel.

"What did you do to Wasp? His energy is completely unstable!" he hissed angrily.

"Not like it matters but might as well explain it to the two of you. I used your precious transwarp generator to turn him from into a techno-organic, just like me. And he was more than happy to help me with my little experimentation."

"S-So you can-can cre-ate your own ar-army?" sentinel stuttered. He could feel whatever she had done to him begin to wear off and managed to remain standing on his own peds even though his balance was still off.

"Yeah, right! Once I've dealt with you two I'm going to change him back into a pure Cybertronium mech. With any luck I'll finally be able to cure myself of this accursed organic body!"

"But, you'll be destroying Wasp in the process!" he shouldn't care about the bug, not if he hurt Bumblebee but he could not justify using him like that.

"You think I care about any of that?!" she snapped angrily. "So he doesn't survive, big deal! And with you two, I can keep experimenting until I find a cure and no one is going to stop me!"

"Zzpider bot… not friend?" came a confused buzzing. Everybot looked over to the side as Waspinator finally managed to stand. The crackling of transwarp energy was stronger than before and the look in his fuchsia-colored optics showed the hurt and betrayal he felt. "Zzpider lady lie to Wazzpinator. Never friend. Autobotzz alwayzz chazzing Wazzpinator, not believe what Wazzpinator zzaying, not zzpy!" He could feel the energy building, limbs failing about he glared at the assembled mechs and femme. "Wazzpinator make all botzz pay!"

"He's going to take out the entire island and everything on it!" Sentinel warned, optics wide. Frozen to the spot, he didn't realize Optimus had transformed until he yelped and clung to the red frame, holding on for dear spark's sake.

The femme fatale hissed but she wasted no time in grappling with the pissed off insect, spinning yard after yard of her sticky webbing until they were completely cocooned. It wouldn't do much in the way of protection, and even now she wondered why she didn't just bother to save her own aft, but there was no time to process the information as she felt the energy reach its critical peak and explode.

At the dock the Autobots clung to the railing of the cargo ship as a huge explosion rocked the very island, churning the waters and knocking more than one bot off their peds. Ratchet was one such mech, having finally gained some sort of balance and cursed when he hit the deck with enough force to jar some internal circuitry.

"Slag it all! Now what happened!?" he snapped.

"I believe part of the island just exploded," Skyfire said with narrowed optics. All the bots looked towards the island and sure enough, they were a very large cloud of smoke rising from the other side of the crater. Without being asked Skyfire jumped into the air, transforming as he flew to get a closer look.

Bumblebee watched out with a frighten expression in his optics. Optimus was still out there and while he still wasn't sure to trust his team or not, he didn't want them gone. He slowly moved away from Prowl and towards the railing, looking intently for any sight of their leader as well as the large jerk bot.

 _'_ _Please… please be okay,'_ he thought fervently. Everything was tense for at least a long time, Psyche and Ratchet tending to the twins and the Dinobots who were warned to behave or they could just very well stay on their ruined island. It had been well into night when they chased Wasp here to the island and just as the sun was about to rise, the large seeker was heading towards them, carrying two bots from his grabbling hook. Bee was the first one to spot them and everybot waited as the plane flew closer, lowering and slowing down, Sure enough hanging from the rescue line were both Primes, and both looked a bit banged up with numerous dents and dings, as well as some scorch marks but they were both still functioning.

Optimus felt like he could recharge for a full deca-cycle, his system presenting a slew of error messages he just did not have the processor capacity to deal with right now. He did look at the bots on the ship, a bit surprised at eh quite forms of the Dinobots but before he could say anything he felt a small frame crash into him. Looking down he sighed in relief; Bumblebee was alright.

"Bumble-"

"Shut up," he muttered and clung to his commanding officer as tight as he could. "Just, s-shut up." The firetruck said nothing but wordlessly wrapped his servos around him, reaching up and gently stroked the back of his helm. Everyone was safe and Wasp—Waspinator, was gone. So why did he still have an unsettling feeling in his tank and spark?

* * *

"How come no one told me that there were gonna new Autobots coming?" Sari said with a slight pout. She had come over to visit the warehouse and was surprised to see that no one was there until the large group arrived a few breems after her own arrival. She had been ready to let them have it for leaving her behind, until she saw the sorry state they were in.

The femme, who introduced herself as Psyche, looked up with narrowed optics where she was working on the flying Dinobot's circuitry. "For the last time, Skyfire and are I are not Autobots. We're neutrals, always have been, always will be. So learn it, memorize it, or just shut it," she said coolly with a warning glare.

"Geez, sorry!" she snapped back, crossing her arms over her chest. "What's the big deal though? What's so bad about being an Autobot?"

Psyche looked ready to say something really nasty but gritted her denta together and went back to work. She did yell at the dino to stop fidgeting or else she was going to weld him to the table he was laying on.

Skyfire vented softly but continued working on his patient. "Psyche and I both have had unpleasant experiences with both fractions," he calmly explained; his focus was completely on repairing some circuitry that had become damaged on Grimlock; he offered to tend to the leader of the Dinobots and didn't seem to mind the way he growled at him. "Many bots see the war as black and white, one side good, the other evil, but no one seems to realize that there are shades of gray in-between." He paused and looked up at her, his light blue optics full of understanding and experience. "We chose to be neutrals to help those who want nothing to do with the war but have found themselves caught up in it regardless. We help those who need our help, regardless of what side they are on."

"Oh." She wanted to ask why he would be willing to help a Decepticon but something told her that was a question better left alone for now, one where not every bot could hear it. Looking at eh group she sighed in disappointment. "I wish…" she didn't bother to finish her sentence as she stared down at her feet.

The large seeker noticed this and could tell there was something weighing on the young organic's shoulders. "Is something wrong?"

"… I wish, I still had the AllSpark Key, I could have everyone fixed and repaired in a snap. But I used up all the energy to upgrade myself."

Psyche paused in her working, staring at nothing in particular for a few kliks before continuing. It was a few kliks after that did she speak up. "Perhaps it wasn't meant to be."

Sari blinked and looked at eh femme. "Huh?"

"Sari, right? Some of our best scientists have been researching the AllSpark since we were first aware of it. It's been… what, ten billion stellar cycles since Cybertron came to be and shortly after that the first Transformers were created. You'd think with so much time on our servos we'd have at least an answer or two but instead we just have more unanswered questions."

"Created? Who created you? I mean, them? The first transformers."

"No idea." Finishing the last set of wires she had the dino run through his system and report any errors. When he reported none (and she explained what she was talking about) she smiled and patted his shoulder. Reaching for the piece of hammered out plating she began the next task of attaching it as one of her digits folded back to become a mini blow torch. "All I do know is the AllSpark has been around for eons, and it's going to continue being around whether we like it or not. So, let's not question it, a'right?"

"Yeah… but, you think anyone will ever learn anything about it?"

"Maybe. Or maybe it just hasn't found the right being its wants to pass its secrets onto." Glancing at the human she smiled briefly and gave her a quick wink.

Sentinel was not happy. When he learned the femme and large seeker had been contact by Ratchet he was livid and was prepared to contact Ultra Magnus and report him. It was another slap to the faceplates when the grumpy medbot explained he had the Magnus' permission and he could call the High Council for all that he cared, the femme was here to assist with Bumblebee. In fact, he glanced around for the minibot but he was now where in the med bay.

"Where'd that Bumbler go?" he asked to no one in particular. "And when is somebot going to make sure I didn't upload an organic virus?"

"We'll deal with your phobia once we're done, slag it!" Ratchet snapped. He had been impressed with Skyfire's medical knowledge, seeing that the seeker had more than just the basics down and did not question it when he offered to look at the Dinobots. He had been iffy bringing them here but so far they were behaving and obeyed when spoke too. As long as it came from either the seeker or Psyche. Stepping back he nodded to Optimus. "Okay kid, you're good to go."

The Prime slowly sat up and running a quick diagnostic, sighed in relief. "Thanks Ratchet."

"Maybe next time you should watch your back plates." That had been tricky but they had managed. He looked over to see Psyche had finished with the Dinobot and let him go. Skyfire was nearly done with Grimlock which meant Sentinel was the only one remaining. Gesturing to the mech he sighed but didn't start on him right away. "Where's Bumblebee?"

"I sent him to his room to recharge," the femme explained as she cleaned her servos. "In fact, I need to talk with him for a bit. You need any help?"

"No. I can always weld Sentinel's mouth plates shut if he gives me any trouble."

"I heard that! I'll write you up for threatening a superior officer!"

"Why don't you do it now and save all of us the ringing in our audio receivers," she teased, ignoring the blue Prime's squawking. "Or better yet, have Grimlock sit on him."

The Dinobot looked up when he name was mentioned and looking at the loud bot, nodded. "Me Grimlock sit on loud bot. Me sit good!" he made to stand and do as told but was forced back down onto the table when Skyfire pulled him down. "but pretty bot tell Grimlock to sit!"

"She was joking and I'm not done," he scolded lightly. "So for now, sit here." The Dinobot let out a grumble but obeyed.

Psyche chuckled and headed out, accompanied with Sari who led her to Bee's room. Knocking on the door they were met with no answer but a quick peak inside showed him to be in recharge. They decided to let him be and went to see how the others in the main room were doing. As hey closed the door a breeze from the open window blew in, stirring the posters on the walls, some human-sized comic books on the floor, and the sheet on the berth. The breeze was strong enough to cause the sheet to lift to reveal the minibot was, in fact, not even there. A few pillows and bundles of cloth had been stuffed inside to make it seem like he was sleeping.

* * *

Bumblebee couldn't believe it but he knew his system better than anybot. He had even opened his chassis and examined his spark to the best of his ability but his optics did not lie to him. Orbiting his soft silver blue spark, was a much smaller white spark. He ran through countless diagnostics and each one came back with the same message.

He had been sparked, and he was currently carrying. He had a sparkling inside him.

He refused to believe it at first, almost going to Ratchet to make sure but he held that idea back with every bit of strength he possessed. If he was sparked and Ratchet confirmed it, then… not only would he know, he would want to know who the sire was.

 _'_ _I have to tell Starscream.'_

The video file Waspinator uploaded into his processor was still there but he refused to believe it. The seeker cared about him, he wanted him! He said so himself! And the glitch was glitching out anyway, probably fried a few circuits here and there in his processor. Pitt, maybe he had been dropped on his helm too many times when he was still a protoform! He sped along the streets when he realized he knew the seekers' location and didn't think to send him a ping that he was coming.

 _'_ _He'd never expect me coming!'_ he thought and raced faster. For some reason this led him to what appeared to be a garage of the humans' planes. It made sense, no one would expect to find Decepticons among the regular planes but he couldn't go driving up the main gate. So he drove as close as he could before he found a part of the gate he could get through that didn't have security everywhere. Transforming he cut an opening big enough for him and sneak inside. He felt his tanks rumble quietly and he reached up to gently place his servo on his stomach plates, smiling faintly. That also explained the weird eating habits, how couldn't he have noticed before? Moving as quietly as he could he followed the signal that was the seeker and could hear him talking but something told him to be cautious and wait before he revealed himself. For once, he waited and listened.

"For the last time, I am the original Starscream!" the seeker yelled angrily.

"No, I am the original!" Thundercracker yelled back, refusing to allow this mere "copy" insult him.

"Silence, you glitch!"

"No, you!"

"No, you!"

"You!"

" **You!** "

The two seekers were so close to one another, their oil pressure escalating to such unbelievable levels, it was a miracle their fuel pumps didn't just give out already. Before the two could start shooting at one another they pulled away and turned their back plates to the other, crossing their servos over their chassis.

"Why the frag did I think this was such a good idea?" Starscream muttered to himself, trying to ignore the ache forming in his processor.

"Oh but all your ideas are nothing short of brilliant!" Sunstorm praised earnestly, getting rather close to Starscream. "You more than deserve to be the leader of the Decepticons, oh wise and powerful and brilliant Starscream!"

Thundercracker snarled and whirled at the yellow-orange seeker. "Don't call that miserable clone Starscream! I'm the true original!"

"Who else could you be? No one is as majestic as you are!" The original looked ready to destroy them both if to get a single nanoklik of silence!

Slipstream merely glanced up from where she had been examining her digits as she had seen a human femme do once. "So what now, oh fearless leader?" she asked sarcastically.

"Do not start with me, fembot!" he snapped at her.

"Oh somebot's got his wings up in a flurry," she sneered. Sure enough the wings of said seeker were so tense they were nearly vibrating, held high up on his back struts. "Why don't you call that minibot to relieve your stress?"

"Shut up! I'm not taking any advice from you!" he snapped. Why the Pitt didn't he think of that?

"I don't like that minibot! His color is too bright, his frame is too bulky, and he's not that attractive for a grounder!" Ramjet sneered. "Don't call him, I don't want to see him!"

"I heard there's a river in a place called Egypt you should really visit one of these solar cycles," the femme muttered to the white seeker, ignoring his huff of indifference.

"No don't call him! He'll lead the Autobots to us, or worse—the Elite Guards!" Skywarp said in a slightly panicked tone as he immediately tried to hide behind an irate Thundercracker. "They'll use stasis cuffs on me! Do you know that they'll lead to stasis lock? I don't wanna go into stasis lock!"

Starscream couldn't hear himself thinking, the ache in his processor was getting so bad he didn't realize the AllSpark fragment in embedded in his fore helm was glowing. There was a bright cackle of energy and the clones looked up with wide optics before a burst of energy arched out from the enraged seeker, hitting them all and knocking them flat on their afts.

"Now listen hear you miserable clones! I am the Original Starscream! I made you and by Unicron's will, I can unmake you as well!" he seethed as he rounded on Skywarp who led out a scream and quickly hid behind Slipstream, covering his helm with his servos in an attempt to hide.

"Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me!" he whimpered.

"I give the orders here, and you glitches will obey each and every one of them—or else," he seethed angrily. "Do I make myself clear!?" A murmur of "Yes" filled his audio receivers but he thought back to what Slipstream had said. The minibot was a good frag, but he was getting a bit tired of having to wait for him whenever he sent him a message. He could solve that easily just be chaining him to his berth, but he ignored the strange fluttering feeling in his chassis. Growling he turned from them listening to them get to his peds but a cruel idea flittered across his processor, making him smirk.

"Since you are all aware of the Autobot warming my birth, I've decided to give him to you, my loyal soldiers," he smirked as he turned to face them.

"What do you mean?" the blue-violet seeker demanded.

"I know some of you have been watching us interfacing, you are all part of me after all." He smirked when he saw some of them look away guiltily (Ramjet tried to glare his guilt away but was failing miserably). "And I know you all want to experience the tight valve of such an obedient pet. So, being the generous and giving leader that I am, I am willing to share my minibot with you."

"Wait—what?" Was he serious?

"just what I said. I assure you, for a lowly Autobot he's quite a submissive, little berth slave and he'll do anything you order him to do." His smirk grew as he saw he had their interest. "And I do mean anything."

From his hiding spot bumblebee could not believe what he was hearing. Was Starscream… was he… really just using him? Was he going to just give him to his clones? Didn't he care about him in the least? He shook his helm, wanting to stop out and confront him but he couldn't move his peds, he could only grip the tree he was hiding behind even tighter.

"I should get the yellow Autobot anyway since I'm clearly the best of all of you, being the original and all," Thundercracker scoffed but he stilled eyed the red-violet seeker warily.

"Then prove it."

"B-But you to-told him that you need-needed him," Skywarp quietly reminded him from his hiding spot behind Slipstream. "He-He won't… this won't work!" he flinched and once more covered his helm with his servos, wings dropping down, his entire frame trembling in fear. "I'm sorry! Please, don't hurt me!"

"I lied, you stupid glitch! I was going to use him to get their fragments but he was so desperate for attention he believed everything I told him! I even made him believe his own teammates hated him! The only good thing going for him was being sealed and I took that away from him. He's mine to use as I see fit!"

"Oh what a devious plan you have, oh cruel and evil Starscream! You used the little Autobot so wonderfully!" Sunstorm gushed joyfully.

Everything the scout knew just shattered around him. He didn't realize he was moving until he heard something snap under his ped. Snapping his helm up he heard the seekers moving and without thinking twice, turned and ran off as fast as he could. He wasn't sure how long he ran for or even what direction he was going in but once he reached a drivable path he quickly transformed and peeled out. He tried to stay under some form of shelter, praying to primus that the seeker never noticed him.

 _'_ _He didn't mean it,'_ he sobbed to himself. _'He didn't mean it! He said he needed me! He said, no one else wanted me!'_ But the ugly truth kept repeating itself over and over in his processor, making his processor ache and his tanks churn. Feeling an unsettling feeling he skidded to a stop behind a large billboard along the road and as soon as he transformed, he dropped to his knee joints and servos, purging his tanks. He could not remember the last time he felt this bad, if ever, but he stayed there as he continued to purge, venting air deeply. After a breem or two he slowly sat up, ignoring the mess on the ground but he rested a shaking servo on his stomach plates.

He was carrying Starscream's sparkling… he went behind his team's back and saw the seeker, allowed himself to be used and abused… he was enjoying it each time, begging for more, for the seeker to frag him harder, faster… he keened in pain and nearly doubled over, servos wrapped around his frame tightly. What would the 'Con do if he found out he was carrying? Would he destroy him on the spot? Would he force him to delete the sparkling? Or, would he make him wait until it was ready and take it away?

 _'_ _No! This-This is my sparkling! He can't have you!'_ The thoughts were so venomous he scared himself but he found a ring of truth in those words. Bracing himself up he opened his chassis and reached up to gently touch the protective casing where his spark lay; it was faint, but he could feel the smaller hum of the tiny spark orbiting his own, and despite the shattered feeling inside he had to smile and sent a feeling of love and acceptance to it. He couldn't feel anything from the sparkling but the hum grew. "I won't let anybot take you away from me. Not even your creator." He continued to caress the casing for a few more kliks before reluctantly pulling away, allowing his chassis to close. Making sure there were no other vehicles around, he transformed and drove into the city limits.

* * *

Stellar cycles passed and Bee tried to focus on being normal. He came to the realization that everything Starscream told him had been a lie from the beginning, that his team really did care about him. He was unsure at first, the hurtful words still lingering in the back of his processor but the more time he spent with them, the more he realized how wrong he had been. Soon it was as if he had never believed the seeker's lies. Spending time with his team he found himself teaming up with Sari against the jettwins when it came to video games, pulling pranks against Sentinel when the big-chinned bot was being a total aft, and helped keep an eye on the Dinobots just in case they got too bored in the factory. He also began talking with Psyche about half a mega-cycle a day in his room. She never pushed him for answers and he found her easy to speak to. She reminded him a lot of Ratchet during one of his moods, and she was certainly no push-over with her small energy hammers. They talked about whatever was on his processor and he found himself enjoying these sessions. He even found himself spending time with the large shuttle-class mech; Skyfire was a quiet mech and he was usually found meditating with Prowl in his room and he had taken quite an interest in the planet's culture and technology, constanting asking Sari questions. The only things he didn't enjoying were the nightly patrols Optimus had him do and he only went if the boss bot, Prowl, or Psyche went with him. He was terrified of running into the seekers but there had been no sign of them or techno-organics as well. Things were finally getting back to normal.

He also noticed that he was sneaking nuts and other items when he thought no one was looking, trying to satisfy his growing hunger. One morning he looked down at his frame and realized that he was beginning to show. If this kept up, everybot would know something was up and then he would have no choice but to allow Ratchet to examine and then he would know that he was carrying. "Borrowing" a data pad from the med bay he looked up some information and realized the materials he had been consuming were necessary in order for his system to create a viable protoform for the sparkling to survive in. As soon as he found out he spend a full deca-cycle looking at the small bump, stroking it and smiling gently, promising to eat enough so his sparkling would have a strong and healthy protoform. But the smile soon faded when he realized not only was his small "baby bump" going to get bigger, everybot would soon realize what was going on and piece everything together.

 _'_ _What… what if they throw me in prison like Wasp? Or take you away once you're ready to come out? Or—or make me delete you?'_ he stumbled away from his mirror, nearly tripping over the items scattered along the floor and fell back onto his berth, both servos trying to hide his frame from sight. He didn't realize he was trembling as he pushed himself back until he hit the wall, his armor clanking noisily. _'No. I'm not letting anybot take you away from me. You're my sparkling, and even if it means being on the run for the rest of my life cycle I will always protect you.'_ Nothing mattered but the tiny spark growing inside him. He tried to act like everything was alright and made sure not to draw any attention to his slightly growing frame, and so far no one was the wiser. The same could not be said at night, though. That's when the nightmares came and he was powerless against them. He tried to ignore them, tried to be his normal loud, annoying, prankster self but the stress was beginning to weigh on him heavier and heavier and the nightmares were becoming more and more disturbing.

Everyone was worried about him and Psyche tried to talk to him, to find out what was going on but just when she thought she had gotten through to him he would get this look of utter fear in his optics and freeze, refusing to tell her anything. He would retreat to his room and refuse to come out no matter what, not even open the door when someone tried to bring him energon. It was making them all worry, especially his teammates. Then one night, Bumblebee had one of the worse nightmares ever. He dreamt that Waspinator had found him and ripped the barely forming protoform from his frame and killed it before his optics, and he had been powerless to stop him.

Prowl had been the only one to hear him whimpering in his sleep, calming him when the minibot turned to him for comfort and safety. He tried to get him to tell what his nightmare had been about, but Bee refused. He ended up falling into an unsteady recharge in the arms of the Cyber Ninja, terrified of being alone. The following morning came and with it Bumblebee slowly awoke. Prowl, who had been awake for a short amount of time, was patient as he heard his system online with a low hum, servos clutching at him for a few kliks, as though to assure himself that he was real and not part of a defrag his processor was showing him. He watched as optics opened and came online but didn't remove himself from him just yet.

"You stayed." He hadn't meant it as a statement but he needed some reassurance right now and by the Pitt he was going to take whatever he could.

"I did," Prowl said quietly, listening with half an audio as he heard the faint stirring of the others waking from their own recharge as well. His servos continued their gentle ministrations in stroking the warm metal, pausing when he felt him shift, thinking he was going to pull away but he continued to stay close to the other bot, this time resting his helm on a shoulder joint. "Was your recharge better this time?" he asked softly.

"… no," he admitted. He should have just lied by Prowl had the uncanny ability to tell when he was lying, and he was just too damn tired of this whole sneaking around. Speaking of which, he frowned slightly as he felt his tanks churning quietly. He was getting hungry but he didn't want to leave the safety of his room. "Prowl?"

"Yes?"

"… nevermind." Sure he could ask Prowl if he could get him some energon, he didn't think he would mind, but that would leave him alone and he didn't want to be alone. He was still afraid. Just thinking about his nightmare made him whimper in fear, optics closing and clinging to the sleek frame even tighter. _'Please, don't let go,'_ he whimpered softly.

Seeing this side of the yellow scout was highly unlike and he did not like it one little bit. Frowning slightly he held the minibot even closer than before, reaching up and gently stroking the back of his helm. "it's alright, Bumblebee. I'm here," he said softly. The scout just continued to cling to him, trying to get his frame to stop trembling. He looked up when he heard a soft knock on the door and felt Bee freeze in place. "Yes?"

"It's me," psyche said softly. She glanced up and down the hall to make sure it was empty. "I brought some energon. Can I come in?"

Prowl would have invited her in but this wasn't his room and he didn't want to make the scout lose his trust in him again. But the minibot slowly nodded, whispering that it was okay. Waiting a moment he told her to come in and watched as she opened the door just enough to enter then immediately closed it behind her. She was looking at them calmly, as though silently asking for permission. He felt Bee nod and slowly she began walking towards the berth, pausing when she reached the side before lifting her servos up and removed two cubes of energon from her subspace. Quietly she handed one to Prowl and offered the other to Bumblebee.

"I'm not hungry," he said softly. That was a lie, he knew he was hungry but it wasn't for the brightly colored liquid. Psyche just nodded and set it on the small table next to his berth and once more, asking permission, slowly sat down. Bee was watching her quietly, almost afraid to move but his optics widen when she faced them and smiling gently, opened her arms to him. It took him an astrosecond before he found himself clinging to her aqua blue frame tightly, closing his eyes as soft sobs escaped his frame. "I'm sorry *ktch*, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry *ktch*," he sobbed softly.

"You have nothing to apologize for, sweetspark," she said softly, gently rubbing his back plates and rocking him back and forth. Resting her chin atop his helm she looked at the ninja bot and nodded quietly. "Can you give us a breem or two?"

He was about to answer when bee spoke up, surprise the both of them. "I-I want Prowl *ktch* to stay." He trusted Psyche, but he felt better with the ninja bot here. The nightmare didn't come and he felt safe with him around. Saying nothing they continued to sit there, waiting for him to calm as he slowly pulled away from the femme but continued to sit between them. He murmured his thanks as he accepted the cube, taking a sip. "I, had a really bad nightmare… I mean defrag."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Psyche asked softly, watching him carefully.

"… W-Waspinator attacked me, when I was alone… he, he was destroying something—precious to me…"

"Last night, you told me not to let them take it, was that what you meant?" the Cyber Ninja asked softly to which the minibot nodded quietly. "What was it?" He didn't answer with words but he watched as his servo come up and protectively hold the slight swell of his stomach plating. He was confused but looked up sharply when the neutral whispered something he had not been expecting.

"You're sparked." He nodded. "The sire… it's not one your friends, is it." He shook his head. "Can you tell me who it is?" He froze and his digits tightened over the mostly full cube and his middle section. "Bee… I don't judge, but anything you tell me will never be said to anyone else. I will take it with me to the Well of AllSparks and after." Reaching out she gently touched his cheek ridge, turning his face plates to hers and smiled kindly at him. "Prowl and I just want to help him, you trust him or else you wouldn't have let him stay with you all night." That was true but looking over the bot he was afraid of him pushing him away, of calling him a traitor, a Decepticon whore.

"I promise not to tell anyone about this, upon my very spark," he vowed, lifting his servo and resting it against his chassis for emphasize.

"… it's Starscream," he whispered and once more stared in the brightly colored cube, fearing the reactions of the mech and femme sitting on either side of him. "Starscream's the sire of my sparkling."

* * *

An unhappy seeker was never a good thing. While not the strongest warrior they were known for their speed and agility, and few in numbers they dominated the air with their aerial skills. Megatron knew what he was doing when he brought Starscream into his ranks and made him second-in-command of his Decepticon forces; even in the air he proved that he was the superior warrior and was more than suitable to lead them in times of war. But for all their usefulness, seekers were known to be a somewhat temperamental bot, and an unhappy seeker usually spelled disastrous results.

But Starscream wasn't unhappy. Oh no, far from it! He was repressed and therefore, was more upset than unhappy. As of late his obedient pet had been ignoring his messages and he had not seen any sight of him in the pest-filled city. He had seen the other Autobots, including two seekers he had never seen before, poking their nosecones where they were clearly not wanted but there had been no sight of the yellow minibot.

Black, clawed digits dug themselves into the armrest of the throne. He had been silently fuming for several earth hours and he was aware that his army was wary of his moods. He did not care about them though, but after a smug-sounding comment from Slipstream nearly had her being blasted out of the gaping hole decorating the remains of the ship Nemesis. They all kept their comments to themselves, and tried to stay out of his way.

 _'_ _Why am I tearing my processor apart over one measly little Autobot!?'_ He had been repeating that same question for the past deca-cycle and each time he had no answer for it. After the first ignored comm link he thought nothing of it, sooner or later the minibot would come seeking him out, he always did. But he never appeared, never responded back, and he knew he read the messages. He gritted his denta together as he felt his spark humming almost violently in his chassis. That was another thing, ever since the AllSpark granted him an artificial spark he had begun feeling these strange sensations he could not remember ever having. And they only happened when he thought about the minibot—he didn't like it. Closing his optics he resisted the urge to open his chassis and glare at the dark red-violet orb, to sooth the painful ache he was feeling. He was not longing for that annoying, brightly colored bot! he was not!

And yet, his servos itched to touch his yellow frame, to let digits slide between gaps of his bulky armor and tease the sensitive wires, to listen to the way his vocalization would moan his designation and the bursts of static when his system grew too hot, the sweet oily taste of his lubrication dancing on his glossia on the rare moments he sought to reward him, losing himself in the sensation of his hot, Wet lip components wrapped around his spike-

"ENOUGH!" he bellowed and in a fit of rage, blasted the already damaged control panel of the bridge. The circuity and power cells were already dead, the ship unfit to fly, but he felt a small sliver of satisfaction as the machines were blown apart. It was a bit annoying as the debris floated in front of him, making the fuse of his already short temper flare. But he still couldn't stop thinking about the Autobot; his spark hummed ever harder than before and he knew that it was not going to stop until he got some answers. Stalking away from his throne he made his way to the back of the ship only to realize all his clones were there. They all looked at him with wary gazes, no doubt having heard him destroyed the ship's computer and had been debating whether to abandon ship or stay. He moved past them and pushed the button, the launch bay door falling open with a groan of protest. "We're going to Earth." It was an order and as he transformed the others followed. He was going to find that annoying bot and he was going to punish him.

It didn't them long to enter the planet's atmosphere and even less time to arrive in the air space of the city. Although he was still boiling with rage he wasn't stupid and the last thing he wanted was for Megatron to be aware of his intentions. He ordered Ramjet and Thundercracker to scout along the city in case any of the Decepticons were around. Those were two less glitches to worry about and once more he sent out a comm to the yellow Autobot and once more it was ignored.

 _'_ _I'll make him pay for disobeying me!'_ he ranted to himself, ordering the others to pair off and seek out the scout. It should take too long but he also warned them to stay out of sight; if they were discovered, he would gladly leave them behind.

As the seekers were scouting the city Bumblebee, was in fact, patrolling the city with Optimus. Ever since he had told the truth of what he suffered at the servos of Starscream, the Cyber Ninja promised to keep his secret until he was ready to tell everyone. Bee knew he was furious when he recounted the mental abuse the seeker forced him to endure and how he had him believing that his friends didn't care about what happened to him. He even apologized once more for lashing out at him verbally when he had been rescued. The only reason he wasn't patrolling the streets was he, Sari and Skyfire were escorting the Dinobots back to their island. The minibot wouldn't have mind if they stayed but it was getting harder to keep them in the factory when everything outside was much more interesting. Even now he knew his leader was worried about him but he didn't try to push for answers. By the Pitt, he was still struggling on how to tell them he was sparked by Starscream of all mechs! He also knew the firetruck was staring at him even in their alt modes.

"You're staring again."

"What?"

Bee chuckled softly, turning off to a side street he pulled into a parking lot of a small plaza and stopped in an empty slot far from the other cars. The firetruck silently parked next to him, neither of them saying anything as they watched the humans walking around, going from store to store or heading to their cars. "Optimus?"

"Yes?"

"… I'm sorry, for what I said. I didn't mean what I said I was just—confused and upset."

"I already forgave you, Bumblebee. I also know you'll tell me what you were forced to experience when you're ready, not before," he responded quietly. "When you went missing for those several solar cycles I kept imaging something terrible was happening to you. I was very worried about you—we were all worried."

"I know that now. Still can't believe I fell for such a stupid trap." He sagged on his tires, axles protesting slightly.

"You need to stop doubting yourself like this. We never would have thought Starscream was capable of executing something that ingenious, and that he's working by himself means he's another foe we have to keep an optic on along with Megatron."

"Yeah…" What would have happened if the seeker was still with the warlord? Would he have presented him with a captured Autobot like a trophy? Would the warlord have tortured him for the sheer sick joy? Would he have ripped his spark out of his chassis in front of his team and Sari? Or would he have done the same thing Starscream did? He couldn't stop the shiver that raced through his circuitry, resisting the urge to burn rubber and hide himself in his room. He was jolted from his anxiety when he felt something gently nudge his side, making him rock heavily on his axles.

"it's me, Bumblebee, it's just me," Optimus said quickly, backing up to give the minibot some room and watched as he calmed down, his frame no longer shaking. "I'm sorry, was it something I said?"

"No! No, no it wasn't you… I… my processor is just glitching on me," he said quietly and quickly erased the images, refusing to dwell on them for a single astrosecond. Now he really wanted to talk with Psyche and relieve himself of this mental burden. They lapsed into silence for several kliks before he spoke up once more. "Boss bot, thanks. Does that mean if I drop a paint bomb on Sentinel you won't get mad at me?"

The Prime chuckled softly; if he could he'd be shaking his helm right now but it really did feel good to have the scout back to his mischievous help. "I wouldn't go that far, Bumblebee. But maybe you shouldn't tell me your pranks beforehand."

"Oh, right! Not like I'm gonna drop a paint bomb on him!" he laughed, thinking of something more creative he could do to the arrogant Prime. He would be talking with Prowl about the sparkling, about possible designations or it would be a femme or a mech. He was really hoping for a femme though since he already had so much practice with taking care of Sari. Cycling air quickly he decided to just come out with it, to tell him he was carrying and see his reaction but froze his scanners picked up something. Several somethings. "We've got company!"

As soon as the seekers spotted the yellow vehicle they flew in. They knew it was him, his energy signature was proof but they were not pleased to see him with another Autobot. Alerting Starscream he gave them orders to capture him and destroy the other mech. It was chaos as they swooped in, opening firing on the firetruck, trying to drive it off but the mech was stubborn and refused to leave the minibot.

"We have to get that annoying mech away from the minibot!" Slipstream snapped angrily. The other clones were useless but she had an idea as she sent a private comm to Skywarp, who naturally, freaked out thinking someone hacked him. "It's me, you glitch!"

"Who!? Slipstream?"

"No, it's Megatron, nuts for processor!"

"Noo! S-Stay away!" The warlord was much more terrifying than Starscream! He trembled where he was hiding when the femme seeker once more snapped at him to listen. He didn't want to hurt the minibot, but he agreed to the plan. All he had to do was wait for the signal.

Bumblebee was trying hard not to panic, looking around for the original but there was no sign of the red-violet seeker. He already alerted everyone that the clones were attacking him and Optimus Prime and they needed back-up when he heard screaming and looked towards the plaza. With all the gun fire going on the stores were getting hit, causing the humans to go running in different directions. But he looked because a woman was screaming for someone to help her.

"My daughter!" the woman screamed. Sitting on the ground in front of a toy store was a little girl, crying in fear as the adults around her ran past her, scared for their own lives. Above her a piece of the building was crumbling and it looked ready to fall and crush her.

"M-Mommy!" she cried, too scared to move.

Something struck the scout's spark and without thinking twice, raced to the child. He didn't care that he could get horribly hurt, he just knew he had to save the tiny human, he had to save the child! He skidded to a halt, trying not to scare her as he knelt and gently cradled her in his servos. "It's okay, you're safe now," he said softly. She was smaller than when he first meet Sari, and her large blue eyes were so wet with tears, he could feel something tugging at his spark but when she screamed in fear he looked up just in time to see the building collapse.

"BUMBLEBEE!" the red and blue Prime shouted, watching in horror as the building fall apart, burying the yellow mech in the rumble. He was dimly aware of the human woman screaming, fearing that her child had been killed. His battle with the clones had been momentarily forgotten, rushing forward to the pile of broken cement but the smirking form of Sunstorm landed before him, the others surrounding him. "Let me through!"

"Such a valiant effort, oh noble Prime! But this is the end for you. I'll be sure to tell your team about how you almost defeated us." the yellow-colored seeker said, aiming his rifle at him but he was distracted when there was a loud roar of an engine and a dented yellow compact emerged from the debris, tires squealing it nearly slammed into the stabilizers of a surprised Slipstream, causing her to yelp as she fall back, landing heavily on her aft. "G-Get him-!" Sunstorm ordered but shouted in pain when the energy axe sliced through his arm right at the joint, serving it.

The small car raced around the parking lot before skidding to a halt in front of the sobbing woman. The door opened and sitting in the passenger seat was the little girl, several seatbelts wrapped around her, perfectly safe. "Julie!" the woman cried, happy tears streaming down her face.

"Mommy!" The seatbelts unbuckled themselves, releasing the little girl into the waiting arms of her mother. She was fine, save for a skinned knee where she had fallen earlier. "Mommy, the robot saved me."

"I see that, baby," she smiled, hugging her tightly she watched as the car changed to that of the robot she had seen earlier and smiled up at him. "thank you, you saved my baby girl. Thank you."

The minibot smiled, glad that the child was safe and told them to get away from here when he felt something hit him in the back of his helm, hard enough to cause his processor to crash. The last thing he saw was the terrified faces of the mother and daughter. His fears went to them, and his unborn sparkling.

Slipstream smirked as she watched the small bot fall, completely off-line but she wasn't done yet. "Now!" she shouted. A ripple in the air and Skywarp was there, looking scared out of his frame but he wordlessly reached down and picked up the minibot. "Well, get going!" Yelping in fear he teleported from the area, the yellow scout in his arms. Looking at eth other mechs fighting she sneered and transforming, took off. Let the idiots deal with the Autobot, she was done with this so-called "ingenious plan".

* * *

Starscream had lost any remaining patience he had the second he entered the planet's atmosphere. He did not like being ignored, and he did not like being made a fool. Rather than join his clones in looking the miserable waste of scrap metal he went back to the abandoned industry district. A few warehouses and factories were still standing and he took to one of them, angrily firing at broken down pieces of machinery, not caring if the human authorities came around. They were such tiny pests, he might even enjoy using them as target practice! He whirled when he felt a displacement in the air, watching as the cowardly seeker appeared, holding an off-lined minibot in his arms.

"What took you so fragging long?!" he shouted at him angrily, advancing on him.

Okay scratch that, Starscream was much scarier than Megatron! Trembling in fear the seeker took a few steps back, clutching the minibot tightly to his chassis as though he was a shield. "S-Sorry! But, h-he wasn't alone. The fi=firetruck-k was with him and-and he didn't look ha-happy," he stuttered slightly.

"What makes you think I gave a slag what that glitch thinks!? If it weren't for your ability to teleport, I would have destroyed you the moment you came online!" Ramjet and Thundercracker, who had returned upon Starscream's orders from their own scouting mission, winced as their "brother" was berated. But the shouting stopped when a soft groan was heard from the captured Autobot.

Bumblebee slowly lifted a servo, touching the back of his helm he winced as he felt a small dent that was still sensitive and radiating a lot of pain. "What hit me?" he asked quietly, taking a klik to register what happened but he froze when he realized he was being held by some bot. His curiosity turned to fear and panic when he realized the servos holding him were clawed and the chassis was intimately familiar. His optics immediately opened and onlined, staring at terrified (and guilty?) faceplates of the purplish seeker he had heard called Skywarp, but it was the red-violet that he was the most afraid of and he unconsciously pressed himself into the chassis of the mech holding him, as though thinking he would protect him.

"S-Starscream! Wha-What the slag do you want? Where am I? Where's Optimus?!"

The seeker smirked, knowing that he was afraid but he didn't like the way he was getting comfort with the pathetic clone in front of him. Stalking forward he grabbed the Autobot by the arm and yanked him from the other's grasp. Bee yelped as he was pulled and fell to the ground, landing heavily on a knee joint kept him from landing on his aft but he didn't like the crack he heard. He pulled him up to his peds and stared at him, his artificial spark humming at the mixed look of fear and anger in those baby blue optics.

"You've been ignoring me, Bumblebee," he hissed lowly, ignoring the other mechs. "I don't like being ignored. You haven't responded to a single message or comm link I've sent you."

"I-I haven't gotten anythi-" He cried out in pain as a servo came up and slapped him hard enough to make his helm ring, as well as make it snap to the side. He would have fallen on his aft if the servo gripping his arm hadn't dug in deeper, clawing piercing through protoflesh.

"Don't lie to me!" he said angrily, wrapping the servo he just used to slap him around his neck, gripping the cables tightly. "I know you received them, but you have been purposely ignoring me. So tell me, my sweet little Bee," he purred, pulling him close as his digits caressed the cables, feeling the rush of energon flowing; "Tell me why you're been neglecting our secret encounters?"

With a surge of disgust he could feel the urge to submit to him, to let him frag him to his spark's content. He was sick of being this slagger's toy! "L-Let go!" he shouted as loud as he could, gripping the arm holding him he kicked his ped out as hard as he could and felt it connect with the seeker's cod piece. A tiny smirk of satisfaction cross his lip components as the fragger let go, clutching the dented armor but he wasn't done as he struck with a charged up stinger in the center of his chassis. The seeker went down with a scream, smoking from where he had struck but when he tried to run his joint gave out and he hit the floor with a grimace. He scowled as Thundercracker and Ramjet each grabbed a servo tightly, so he couldn't attack them or run. He tried not to show his fear as Starscream slowly got to his peds and the look in his optics was nothing short of pure rage.

"What, was that?" he hissed behind clenched denta.

"You lied to me!" he snapped, his stingers charging up. "Everything you told me, it was a lie! My team **does** care about me! They're my friends, and I was a glitch for believing you over them!" The seeker didn't say anything but he didn't give him a chance to try and lie his way out of this, either. "You never wanted me to join you, you just want all our fragments and were going to use me to find the rest for you. Well, it's not happening! And I also know Wasp confronted you and you sold me out!"

Red optics blinked. "Who the Pitt is Wasp?" Did he know a mech by that designation?

"Wasp! The green mech with my similar frame!" he shouted, struggling to get free from the two seekers. "He showed me a video, he saw us together and he thought I was the spy. You… You told him, I was your personal berth warmer. You said… he could have me when you were done. Well, I got news for you, I don't belong to anybot and I sure as Pitt don't belong to a slag-eating glitch like you! So you can take all your lies and shove them up your exhaust port!"

For several long nanokliks all was quiet save for the quiet hum of the minibot's system as he calmed from his outburst, the tension slowly mounting in the air but as the two clones watched their creator he did nothing, standing there with a expressionless look on his face plates. Wasn't he going to say anything? Try and lie his way out of this? Or was he going to destroy the minibot on the spot and leave his remains here for his team to find?

"You surprise me, Bumblebee. Just when I think I've gotten to know you, break you, you continue to fight me each step of the way," he finally spoke up. He slowly walked up to him and lifted a servo; Bee couldn't stop the flinch as he tried to pull away from him, ignoring the crushing grip on his servos; he did keep the cry of pain to himself as digits painfully gripped his helm, scratching none-to-gently across one of his sensory horns, forcing it back. "true, I could have easily gotten the same pleasure from a pleasure drone, but there is something about you that continues to occupy my processor…" Slowly kneeling down, he looked him over, not giving it a second thought as his gaze roamed his form. Had he changed something since the last time he saw him? No matter. "I have a deal for you, little Bee."

"Don't call me little," he seethed, wincing as a claw scrapped over his horn, ignoring the flash of pain/pleasure as it coursed through his system. Starscream just smirked, leaning in closer.

"Leave the Autobots, give yourself to me completely: your frame, your processor, your spark, join me and not only will we be able to overthrown Megatron, once we have all the fragments we can recreate the AllSpark and take over Cybertron together. Never will anybot hurt you, we will rule together. What do you say, my second-in-command?"

"… I don't have to think about it," the yellow mech answered quietly, looking him straight in the optic he frowned and moving quickly, head-butted the seeker as hard as he could. It wasn't his best idea as his processor ached and his horns throbbed in pain but hearing the seeker squealing in pain, servos coming up to grab at the slight dent he created was worth it. "Frag you! I'll never accept you!"

Starscream was so mad he was ready to rip the spark out of the Autobot's chassis as he glared at him over his digits, he ignored the painful lurch in his spark as he pointed his gun at him and shot him at close range right in the chassis, sending him sprawling so his back strut hit the ground at the peds of a frozen Skywarp. "Fine! If you won't accept my deal, then I'll make you beg for my help!" Turning his still furious gaze at the clones he snapped at them. "Do whatever you want, just don't kill him."

The dark lavender seeker knew what he meant but he could not find it in his spark to rape the minibot. But he wasn't brave enough to go against the enraged seeker. Slowly kneeling he looked over the scorch marks on the yellow mech's chassis; the shot created a deep hole, damaging circuits and wiring beneath it. At such a close range the armor just about shattered, unable to protect against the heated firepower. he reached out to gently touch it, watching as the plates shifted as though opening but managed not to yelp in fear as a servo grabbed his own.

"P-Pl-leas-se… do-don't…" the mech begged, struggling to try and sit up.

"I-I'm sorry, but I can't…" he said softly, carefully pulling him up so he was leaning against him. He chanced a look up; the white and blue-violet mechs were yelling at each other, claiming the right to frag the Autobot first. He didn't want to but he felt his own spark lurch and looked down, watching as the chest plates opened to reveal a cracked spark casting, but his optics were drawn to the tiny spark orbiting the larger spark irregularly. He didn't fight the minibot as he forced the damaged plates close; holding a servo over the hole in his chassis, the fear evident in his blue optics as he looked up at him. "Y-You're—sparked?"

"Pl-Please… don't hurt, my-my sparkling-ng-ng," he begged. The seeker was silent, a look of shock and confusion evident in his optics but he was dimly aware as the servos helping him sit up slowly drew him close, pressing him into his chassis. Bee didn't stop the whimper of fear, shutting his optics tightly, bracing himself for the impending rape. He shook as he heard a low growl steadily increase but it took him a klik to realize it wasn't being directed at him. No, the cowardly clone was growling at the other two clones while holding him protectively.

"Don't you growl at me, you pathetic clone!" Thundercracker snapped and took another step closer but was forced back when Skywarp openly fired at him, narrowly missing his stabilizer. "How dare you fire at me!"

The seeker continued growling lowly, optics glowing brightly he shot at eh two of them some more, forcing them farther back. Keeping a servo tightly around the minibot he slowly stood, holding him protectively. This mech was a carrier, and he was sparked. Seekers _never_ harmed a sparked bot, even during times of war. He couldn't explain it, but protocols were demanding he protect this mech with his own spark, even against his own trine. He had to get him some place safe, where he would be protected and the sparkling cared for. Taking several steps back he growled louder when the seekers tried to come at him, firing at the ground this time angrily.

"Stay away!" he snarled, holding the bot tighter.

Starscream did not understand what came over the other mech but he narrowed his gaze at him. "Stop this foolishness, Skywarp." He was meet with a pissed off growl but he continued to move forward, stopping only when a shot nearly hit him in his helm. "… you want the Autobot so badly, fine. Frag him all you want but don't come crying to me when he calls out my designation instead of yours!" he taunted.

The idea of taking the minibot did sound pleasing, and he somehow knew the sparkling was a seeker-to-be, but the way he clung to him, trembling in his hold, hearing him whisper "please don't" made his protective instincts surge once more. " **Noo!** " he shouted loudly, thrusters activating he took to the air and opened fire on not only Starscream but everybot else. He was going to protect Bumblebee no matter what, even if it meant going against his own.

"S-Skywarp?" The seeker didn't turn at his designation, but the arm holding him tightened. He shivered as he growled at him to hold on and he did, shutting his optics tightly as he flew like a rocket out of a hole in the roof. He really didn't understand why he was saving him but right now his top priority was his sparkling's safety. "Don't die, please don't die," he whispered desperately even as the arms around him tightened.

* * *

Men and women alike just about threw themselves to the side walk as several vehicles raced the streets of Detroit, sirens blaring loudly. More than one person shook their fist at them, calling them careless drivers but had they noticed they would have seen these particular vehicles held no drivers.

Optimus Prime wasn't made; no, he was furious. Once Skywarp had teleported away with Bumblebee the others took off, scattering so it was impossible to chase them all down. He immediately reported what happened to the others and without waiting for an order, every bot took off themselves. Sentinel had refused at first but it was either track down one of the seeker clones and find out where they had taken the canary yellow speedster, or stay at the warehouse and deal with a pair of anxious medics. Naturally he chose the option that didn't pose an immediate risk to his faceplates.

"Autobots, report," he ordered, ignoring the honking of the humans' vehicles as he raced down the streets, sirens blaring loudly.

"This is ridiculous, that yellow bumbler could be anywhere in this organic filth!" Sentinel complained, his own engines rumbling as he drove up and down the same street, refusing to admit that he was lost.

"No sign of the kid," Ratchet replied back. "Not so much as a blip."

"I is not finding Bumblebee, Optimus sir," Jetstorm reported in as his scans ran on repeated loops. "Is not finding Starscreams, either."

"Slag it! Where could they have taken him?!" he was so mad he could feel his oil pressure ready to explode!

"Continue to keep your line open, one of you are bound to find him," Psyche said firmly, looking at the monitors along with Ratchet. "I'm still trying to contact Skyfire so he can help."

"Keep me post-" A sudden a high-pitch noise over their comm link, making them swerve on their wheels. "What was-"

"I is found Bumblebee!" Jetfire exclaimed loudly. "But I is needing back-up also!"

"What's going on?"

"Starscreams chasing me! Brother and I is separated, cannot make Safeguard!"

"I is on way, brother!" Jetstorm immediately responded, firing up his thrusters as he headed for his brother's signal. They didn't need to ask as the other Autobots immediately picked up their signal and began heading to their location as fast as their engines could take them. They would not fail their scout/friend like last time.

Jetfire was glad his comm managed to get through, but he still had to deal with the seekers. Narrowly dodging a series of shots from his side he performed a barrel roll while decreasing his speed, biding his time he transformed and landed heavily on the flying form of Ramjet. "Surprising!"

"What do you think you're doing?!" the pathological liar demanded only to wince when he felt the smaller bot begin pulling at one of his wings. "Don't stop pulling my wing!"

"Okey dokey!" the yellow-orange mech grinned and pulled the flap harder. He would only get one chance at this and he was determined to make it count.

"I'll prove I'm the original Starscream!" Thundercracker shouted, powering up his guns as he aimed his sites at the traitor below, ignoring everything around him he failed to notice the Elite Guard flier forcefully piloting the white jet in his direction. Just as he was about to open fire the Autobot jumped off and ramjet, quite literally, rammed himself into the back plates of his blue-violet brother. With a shout the both of them crashed into the ground, badly damaged. "You slag-sucking glitch! You are **useless!** "

"Shut the frag up! I wanted to crash into you and send both of us into the ground!" he snapped angrily.

Down in the cover line of the trees bumblebee couldn't help but grin. Two seekers were down and two were remaining but he had yet to see Starscream. He was surprised he hadn't followed after them as the clones had, but he wouldn't put it past him to do something sneaky to get back at him. He winced as his spark gave a painful lurch but didn't dare open his chassis to inspect the crack. He was afraid of anybot else seeing the sparkling and he didn't want to risk its safety.

 _'_ _I gotta get back to the factory. We'll be safe there,'_ he thought but his damage was so bad he couldn't transform. He cursed as he saw another slew of errors over his display; yes he knew he was low on fuel, his tanks running on empty, yes he knew he needed a medic as of several breems ago, yes he knew he was a sitting dynametal duck out here, but at least he could help. Sitting out from behind a tree he moved forward and opened fire at an unsuspecting Sunstorm only to curse as he absorbed the energy. "Oh, slag it!"

"A valiant effort, sweet little Bumblebee, but this is the end for you," he praised, rising his rifle to shoot him but Skywarp teleported behind him and slashed at his wings, causing him to cry out in pain and immediately plummet to the ground. He was prepared to turn his attention to his sister but a blast of fire enveloping the two of them made him turn his optics to Jetfire.

Starscream was watching everything from a safe distance, once more disappointed in his so-called army but they had found the Autobot and he was alone. Frowning he swooped in low, ignoring everything and headed straight to Bumblebee. Growling he caught the minibot and flew high into the air, above the fliers who were still fighting. He ignored the frantic strikes of the yellow mech as he tore at the broken armor on his chassis, ignoring his please to stop. "You should have just accepted my proposal!" he snarled, digging his servo into the transformation seam and trying to force it open.

"Starscream, please! Stop!" he didn't know what he was going to do but if he continued he was going to found out. He didn't bother to stop the cry as he forced the plates open, gears grinding painfully against one another as he tried to keep it close. "Please, no!"

"Shut up!" he shrieked and forced the plates open, ready to reach in and rip his spark out but he froze when he saw something he had never expected in vorns to happen. Certainly, not with his current state. Digits reached in, passing over the heavy cracks in the chamber and traced where the tiny spark was struggling to remain in orbit, the Autobot's soft white-blue spark flickering erratically. "You're…!?"

Bumblebee didn't give him a chance to finish and he knew this was a stupid idea, he was running on pure instincts and Unicron be damned he was not letting this seeker hurt his sparkling! Charging his stingers he drove them into the seeker's chassis as hard as he could. There was a scream of pain, some of the electricity backlashing into him, making his system fluctuate but it had the desired results as he was let go and the both of them began falling. From this height, it was likely they would not survive. The last thing he saw was his system warning him of a forced stasis until his energy levels were at operational conditions. He could feel his plates shifting close with a painful whine of gears and motors but his optics went off-line, silently praying for Primus to save his sparkling, his "baby".

Even with his system in forced stasis, once in a while his system would flicker online and he would catch glimpses of his surroundings. Not enough to process but they were backed up so he could review them later but he remembered the way Skywarp held her protectively, growling/hissing as anyone got close, he could hear the worried and concerned voices of his friends, he felt servos working on his system, removing the broken armor on his chassis and tending to his badly cracked spark chamber. His system came online and he grabbed at the servos there were deep in his chest, thinking they were removing the sparkling but another part of servos grabbed his own, telling him to calm down.

"It's okay, Bee, you're safe," Psyche said softly as she forced him to lay back, stroking his helm gently she plugged into him, forcing him into a recharge.

"My b-b-baby…" he stuttered, hating the way his frame was slowly slipping into a forced recharge once more.

"Sshhh sweetspark, we're gonna save you both," she said softly, her digits stroking his helm even as he slipped into full recharge.

After that he didn't wake up for a long time though his processor was a jumble of images and no doubt memory playbacks. He was still confused as to why Skywarp of all mechs had betrayed his own family and took him away. He had tried protecting him and not once tried to harm him or the sparkling. But fear once more gripped him as he realized Starscream got a good look at his spark and found out what he had been trying to hide. He was no longer safe here, he had to run away and hide, hide in a place where no bot would ever think to find him. He couldn't go back to Cybertron, and he couldn't stay here on Earth. He didn't know what to do but he was prepared to give up everything for his sparkling, his baby.

Ratchet waited until the minibot was completely under before continuing with the repairs. The spark casting was badly cracked and even now it was delicate work but as long as the kid continued to stay off-line he should be able to fix the cracks. "Lotus, did you know?" he asked the fembot, purposely using her real designation.

Psyche paused in her stroking for several kliks before her digits began she pressed a soft kiss to the top of the helm. "He told me in so many words. Hadn't you noticed anything lately?" she asked as she continued repairing circuits and wires, refusing to look up at him.

The veteran was quiet but to be honest, he hadn't really noticed. The kid usually locked himself in his room and even since the outburst he had respected his wishes not to be examined, but he should have put the pieces together. Carefully applying the nanite repair gel along the cracks he knew it would take at least a solar cycle before the gel hardened and sealed the cracks. He monitored the sparks and could see that Bee's spark was once more steady is slow but there was no danger of it fading. The tiny spark was still orbiting the larger spark and it seemed to pulse in sync with the larger one. "I'm done."

"Then help me with these wires." The two worked quietly, fixing the damage as they pulled back the repaired plates slowly closed together. All that was left was the armor but that would have to remain off until it could be properly repaired. "You said you had some spare pieces for cases like this?"

"Yeah, though I'm glad I never tossed them out."

"Good." Unplugging herself from the minibot she picked up the damaged armor, sighing and made to leave before pausing, walked back, and standing before the medic reached out and promptly smacked him on the back of his helm hard enough to make him stumble.

"What the frag was that for?"

"I told you, don't ever call me by that designation. I stopped being referred by that name vorns ago, I won't even let my creator call me that," she said calmly but her optics were hard, cold. "I'm Psyche now, so get used to it." With that she left, letting the door close behind her.

The medic rubbed the back of his helm, feeling a slight dent but he should've known better. After all, he knew her way back before this war started and he knew her creator very well. Shaking his helm he moved to the side and similar to wait Lotus—Psyche did earlier, but this time it was to download his list on injuries he sustained, including while in the servos of the demented Starscream. Plugging in he picked up the data pad and felt his optics widening as it began to compile a list. "Oh kid… what the Pitt did he do to you?" He didn't want to, but he had to have a good at his interface equipment and he was afraid of confirming his findings. He looked at her, muttering to himself what he had to do when the minibot suddenly onlined and tried to attack him. He dodged the stingers but before he could try and strap him to the examination table he was off, looking unsteady on his peds.

"Kid-"

"No!" he shouted at him, optics wide and glitching repeatedly.

Unicron damn it, the kid looked like he was ready to have a spark attack. "Calm down-!"

"You can't make me! I don't want this!" he continued to shout, sounding increasing panicked.

"Listen to me!" Where the Pitt was Psyche?

 **"NO!"** A large burst of electricity was aimed at him but he quickly moved to the side, wincing as some of his equipment was destroyed. By the time he looked up Bumblebee had sped out of the room. He made to chase after him when Psyche chose that moment to run into the room, the two nearly knocking the other down. "Frag!" he cursed.

"What's going on?" she immediately demanded, looking into the med bay but tried not to panic where she saw that Bumblebee was gone. "What happened?"

"Kid woke up and he attacked me. I think his processor is glitched, he didn't seem to recognize me."

The femme release a slew of curses that woulda made the veteran blushed as the two ran out of the med bay in time to see the minibot speeding down the hall, into the living room. The jettwins were looking confused but were quick to follow the medics. They could only watch as the minibot raced around the factory, screaming at his team to leave him alone, dodging servos as they tried grabbing him. Ratchet yelled at them to be careful even as he reached into his subspace for a sedative. He waited and watched as Bee was heading for the door only to get caught by the large shuttle form of Skyfire.

"Now Ratchet!" the mech shouted, trying not to hurt the smaller mech but he winced when the medic came close and kicked him hard in the shoulder joint, dislocating it. He was finding it more difficult to hold the struggling mech even as his Prime and the green wrecked ran forward and grabbed his peds, keeping from trying to kick out as the medic injected the needle into his neck cables. He didn't listen as the mechs were talking, trying to ignore the terrified whine.

"Let him go," psyche called out, her optics focused on the scout.

"Are you certain?" Skyfire asked but she slowly nodded. Frowning he gently set the yellow med onto his peds, releasing him but stayed in front of the door in case he tried running off. He and the others watched as his friend came up and held him close, talking to him in low tones, before seeing him go limp as the sedative finally took full effect. He also looked around and frowned at the damage of the factory, the command center, as well as the slightly injured mechs, including Prowl's broken optic.

Optimus move silently towards the neutral, glancing at her before turning his attention to the scout. Moving slowly, almost hesitantly, he lifted the yellow mech into his arms, only now noticing his chassis was bared of its armor and the surgery was being repaired by his system. "Bumblebee…" he whispered softly. Why did he have to continue suffering like this?

"I think he should be taken to his room, being in a familiar setting will hopefully calm him," psyche said softly, reaching out and gently trailing her servo over his helm.

"I agree, but I would like to stay with him, just in case he wakes up early," he offered quietly. Psyche looked up at him before slowly nodding and watched as he walked off. The Prime was silent as he moved to the hall, pausing to look at the damage in the med bay before moving on. Stopping before the scout's room the door opened and he stepped inside.

Everything about the room spoke of the scout's personality as well as showed his increasing interest in the planet's culture. He was surprised to see how organized it was but didn't dwell on it as he moved to the berth and silently laid him down. Grabbing the blanket he covered him, reaching for a seat to push close and sat at his side. Why, why was his scout forced to suffer like this? First being captured by Starscream, no doubt suffering from processor abuse, hiding in his room for cycles at a time, and just as he thought they were seeing the old bumblebee come out of hiding he was being hunted down by the seeker clones. And here he was, having failed him as a team leader and a friend. Cycling air he reached out, digits gently caressing the cheek ridges but he froze when the smaller mech flinched, whimpering in his recharge.

Optimus pulled back as though he had been stung and wordlessly sat back in his seat. He had failed as a leader, and as a friend. He couldn't begin to know what Bumblebee suffered at the servos of the Decepticon but he knew that right now, he felt nothing like a hero.

He felt like a complete and utter failure.

~ To be continued. ~

 **Author's Notes:** And this chapter is done! About freakin' time! (sits back in chair) Goddamn… this was such a pain, I think I rewrote this chapter 3 times! Then I had to omit some parts only to rewrite them, then I kept changing one paragraph only to have to change everything else! (rubs face roughly) Gah… okay, not originally Starscream wasn't suppose to find out Bee's been sparked until later but the cat's outta the bag.

Now before anyone asks about Skywarp's sudden descent into madness, let me just say I was inspired by reading a fic where Skywarp, was pushed into a situation of no escape, completely does a 180 and reverts into a raged-filled berserker. I've also read fics where seekers have a ingrain protocol when it comes to sparklings and carriers to which they will lay down their sparks and give unwavering loyalty to them. My original idea was for the clones to overhear or sense Bee was sparked but that didn't make sense, and then the writing got away from me and Starscream had to be a major jackass and shoot Bee. So why did I chose Skywarp? (shrugs) Just seemed like a mech who's been underappreciated. So I turned him into Bee's hero.

From this point on the story will be moving at my story's pace. I may end up pulling one or two episodes from the show but now the story will be focusing on Bee, his team/friends, and the development of Bee's sparkling and eventual birth. Which reminds me, I need some help! Where should Bee have his sparkling? Meaning, he won't be safe at eh factory since he's afraid of the 'Cons finding out so I narrowed it to two locations: Dinobot Island or the Sumdac family farm in Paw Paw?

(Quick note: Paw Paw, a small town, is where Isaac Sumdac is from and where his laboratory/barn is locating in the first episode to TF:A.)

Alright peeps, I will talk to you later as now I need to work on a chapter for my newest fic 'Slutty Bee'. Bye!


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:**

Prowl: 11

Starscream: 8

Optimus Prime: 2

Other: 4 (Bulkhead, Skywarp)

And Starscream has dropped to No. 2 ranking. Yeah, my bad I made him a complete and utter aft in the last chapter and made Bee and his sparkling pay the price (dodges thrown items). Sorry! Oh, someone wanted to see Skywarp being the winner which I think is sweet; I didn't think about it I just wanted the poor thing to have a chance in the spotlight. And it doesn't hurt he happens to be onna my favorite colors (happily hugs the terrified seeker) Onto the story!

Oh before I forget! I will be typing certain conversations in bold to make it easier to stand out such as comm links or private comm links between mechs (i.e. **"Comm link."** and/or **~Private comm link.~** )

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

Psyche "hmmm'ed" to herself as she went over the datapad in her servos. The list of injuries Ratchet had managed to download before Bumblebee woke up confirmed everything she had thought and it made her want to track the fragger down and drive him into the ground like a railroad spike. Or so she had heard on the humans' entertainment screen.

 _'_ _But I'm still confused about that one seeker, the one that the twins said came after them.'_ Now that was another peculiar tale itself! When they had received the comm link that Jetfire had found Bumblebee, she wanted to go over and bring him back. But while her Earth alt mode was made for speed even if she found the minibot how was she going to bring him back? Sighing she thought back to her conversation with the jettwins.

 _"_ _Okay, tell me what happened but one at a time!" she stressed as she rubbed at the space between her optics. "You, start," she gestured to Jetfire._

 _The orange and white seeker fidgeted in his seat but began speaking. "I is finding Bumblebee sir and am sending message to Autobots, but I is fighting Starscreams also," he said quickly. "Starscreams is looking for Bumblebee but one is not fighting but protecting, me think."_

 _"_ _What do you mean protecting? What color was he?"_

 _"_ _Like brother but not," he said with a frown, trying to think of the color before brightening. "Purple! He is purple!"_

 _"_ _Okay…" That only helped so little, according to the team there were three seekers who had a purple color-scheme but one of them was a femme. "You said he was protecting Bumblebee?"_

 _"_ _Yes! When I is flying to him he is growling at me, not letting Bumblebee go. He is… um… like…?"_

 _"_ _Acting protective and defensive, attacking anybot that he deems a threat to your friend," Skyfire said as he silently entered the medbay. "Forgive the intrusion, but I was hoping to listen to what these two encountered during the rescue."_

 _"_ _Go right ahead," Psyche said with a nod, turning back to the twins as the large shuttle-seeker sat on the floor. Since the mech was so large, things like sitting or sleeping on a standard-sized berth were pointless as they were too small to be of any use. But even so he moved with a quiet grace that was only seen on the Cyber Ninjas. She quirked an optic ridge when she noticed the twins trying not to stare at him and could hear their fans kicking on. Cycling air she cleared her vocalizer, gaining their attention as they looked just slightly embarrassed. "Okay, so the purple seeker was acting protective. Then what?"_

 _"_ _Oh! Bumblebee sir is talking with said bot, he is saying I is friend, I is not hurting him. But seeker is not listening, is not trusting me. I is confused, but not want Bumblebee sir hurt. Then Starscreams attack and am fighting them."_

 _As he talked about the fighting and Jetstorm praising his brother's aerial skills, the femme sent a private ping to the large mech._ _ **~So tell me, what would cause a seeker to go against his leader**_ **and** ** _defend an enemy bot_** **and** ** _refuse to even acknowledge help from someone who poses no threat?~_**

 ** _~It's something that I haven't seen in a very long time. What few bots understand is, seekers were not always aerial fighters. We were explorers, we were able to visit other planets, assisted the scientists with their research, and in my programming, I acted as transportation for research teams and emissaries.~_**

 ** _~Tell me something I don't know. ~_**

 ** _~Alright. Seekers have a base program that when activated, makes them protective and aggressive to any and all they perceive as a threat; there was a saying "there is nothing more dangerous than a protective seeker." ~_**

 _Psyche was silent but she had a feeling why. Looking up she saw that Jetfire had stopped talking and was looking at her in concern. "Sorry. Was that it?"_

 _"_ _Y-Yes… then brother is flying in."_

 _"_ _Okay, thanks." Now she turned her attention to Jetstorm and nodded. "So, Jetfire said you came in when he was fighting and you saved Bumblebee. Explain."_

 _"_ _I is not knowing what happen, but I is seeing real Starscream in air with Bumblebee sir. I is too far to hear what they is talking, then I see bright light and now both falling. I is flying fast, I catch yellow friend who no have wings. I is seeing big hole in chassis and comm brother. We is saying we come here, we have grumpy bot fix friend," he explained. "But purple seeker is chasing us; he angry being, more angry then Sentinel sir when coming here."_

 _"_ _And you both acted bravely," Skyfire said with a nod, a smile on his lip plates. "If you had waited, Bumblebee may not have survived. He is very fortunate to have good friends like the two of you."_

 _"_ _W-We is happy he safe now," Jetstorm said quietly, his visor darkening slightly although neither of the twins seemed to noticed that their cooling fans had kicked on once more, and their cheek ridges were brightening in the form of a blush._

 _"_ _Thanks for clearing some stuff up, why don't you two go get some energon," Psyche said with a nod though they didn't leave until Skyfire recommended the same. Once they were gone she turned her attention to her friend and now had both optic ridges lifted. "And why are you blushing?"_

 _The large mech blinked, optics shuttering. "I-I'm not!" Psyche just continued to stare at him, making him uncomfortable but he was the one to look away, wings twitching on his back. "They are attractive, but for all I know this could just be an infatuation. They are not accustomed to seeing a seeker who is not an enemy, and I have never seen wingless seekers myself." He blinked and turned to look at her with a slight frown on his faceplates. "You are changing the topic."_

 _"_ _Am not! Well, not intentionally." Cycling air rather hard through her system she sat back on Ratchet's seat, crossing one stabilizer over the other. "You said something about seekers' programming, that this protective instinct is activated under certain conditions. What is it?"_

 _"_ _Does this concern the minibot?"_

 _"_ _If my theory is correct, then yes."_

 _"…_ _very well. When a seeker is aware of a sparkling in the immediate area, the program will activate with no warning. Regardless of classification or fraction, that seeker and any others around will protect that sparkling with their very spark even from their own creators if the need arose. I once witnessed a seeker destroy a sparkling's sire in such a blind rage when said mech attempted to harm the sparkling then turn around and clutch the sparkling close, treating it like his own and acting as though its life was never in danger."_

 _"_ _I see… and if it's a carrier that's sparked?"_

 _"_ _Then the protective instincts turn to the carrier. They will do everything to make certain the carrier is well-protected and that the sparkling develops as naturally and healthy as possible. In their programming, there is no war, no fraction, no leader to obey, nothing except the welfare of the carrier and the sparkling."_

 _"_ _Frag," Psyche muttered and resisted the urge to rub at her optics. She did drop her helm into her servos and took several deep breaths, vents cycling air slowly. "That explains so much… what the Pitt are we gonna do?"_

 _"_ _Psyche, is… the scout, is he…?" he tentively asked but when she refused to look at him he felt his spark nearly vibrating in his chassis. He could feel the beginning stages of his programming wanting to kick in but he needed proof. His processor demanded he check on the minibot to prove he was indeed sparked but he held the urge in tightly. "The seeker must have seen his spark and his programming activated. I also believe the only reason he did not attack the factory was he did not want to harm him."_

 _"_ _But why didn't he listen to Bumblebee when he said Jetfire was a friend?" she demanded as she lifted her helm to look at him. "What was he going to do if they hadn't come to save him?"_

 _"_ _His first instincts was to get him to safety and to him he perceived all bots as the enemy. He would not take chances in a strange mech to come near them even if Bumblebee said he was a friend. The seeker ran because to stay and fight would have put them in danger, only when they were cornered he refused to back down and decided to fight." He watched as the gears turned in his friend's helm, no doubt letting his words process but he spoke up once more. "Psyche, Bumblebee is no longer safe here."_

 _"_ _What do you mean?"_

 _"_ _It would be futile but right now I am certain the seeker is watching the factory, waiting for the moment for the yellow scout to leave so he can take him somewhere he deems as a safe haven. He will not stop and he will not listen to reason."_

Sighing softly the femme leaned her head back, rubbing the tense wires and cables in the back of her neck. She had yet to talk to anyone, not even Ratchet but he wanted to perform some checks on the sparkling to make sure it was healthy and gauge the current development as soon as he was awake. Looking over at the sleeping mech she tried not to think about what she had just read. She may not be involved with the war, but she had heard enough tales to know just about who was who and what fraction they were associated with. And the things she heard about the second-in-command was enough to make her extra cautious.

 _'_ _Bee's chassis was forced open, among the hole were scratches. So, does that mean Starscream saw his spark?'_ Primus, she didn't know what to think but she wanted to ask Skyfire's opinion on it. If a seeker was the sire of said spark, would that same protective programming activate? What if he overrode it and tried to eliminate Bumblebee? What about the clones? Would they follow the same programming, or would they continue to obey him? She hated this and tried not to think too hard on it but her processor was running all over the place with theories and fears, her digits tightening over the datapad, threatening to break it in half.

The yellow scout could feel awareness coming to him but it was moving sluggishly, as though he had caught a virus. He fought to online his optics, seeing nothing but bursts of static but it didn't stop him. His stabilizers twitched, kicking at the sheet covering him but he couldn't get up. Panic was rapidly beginning to set in and his processor played back a scrambled video feed of trying to escape his from his attackers, attackers that consisted of his abusers like Starscream, his army of clones, and grown versions of the bullies when he was a youngling.

 _'_ _No! Run! Escape! Don't let them near me!'_ He had to get away from them, they somehow got inside the factory and they were after him. They were going to destroy him and his sparkling! His struts protested as he forced himself up, servos scrambling for something to grab onto but his fear escalated when he felt servos catch his own. _'No! Please, leave me alone!'_ he wanted to scream but all he could hear was crackling static. It was enough to make him cry.

"Bee, it's me, it's Psyche," the voice spoke up, over the static and the playback.

 _'_ _Psyche?'_ he knew her, he knew her! She was a friend, not an enemy! But he looked towards the voice he tried to get away. That wasn't the femme, it was Starscream! Nearly screaming he lifted a servo, feeling it transform into stinger, ready to drive it into his chassis but his entire system froze as his processor was hacked.

Psyche looked at the stinger just a mere inch from hitting her in the chassis, watching as the charge died. Primus… his processor was more glitchy than she original thought. Already she could feel it trying to drive her out but it was also attacking itself. She didn't want to damage it and her hacking it was risky enough but she gently coaxed his system to relax, to go through the settings of preparing for a recharge; using her own programming she reset his start-up, making it sort through all the recent data and to online his system one by one, to give him an opportunity to slowly boot up. Readjusting the sheet on him she carefully sat next to him on the berth, watching him closely.

 *** Knock knock ***

"Psyche? Is everything alright?" Prowl asked in concern. He received no answer and the silence was concerning. He silently pushed the door open, peering inside but all he saw was the minibot laying on the berth, the femme sitting next to him but they were both silent. He wasn't certain what they were doing but before he could enter the room he felt a heavy servo on his shoulder, making him jump.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ratchet demanded, watching the ninja move away from him and the door.

"I thought I heard something and came to investigate." It was true, never mind he had been wanting a reason to make sure Bumblebee was alright.

"Look, one thing you better learn fast is when it comes to Psyche is leave her alone," he said firmly as he closed the door and even stood before it. "She takes the welfare of her patients personal, and if she hasn't come out then it means she's not done. So, go do whatever you do and wait until she's done. Got me?"

He didn't want to, he wanted to make sure the yellow mech was alright, he wanted to assure him he would never leave him alone, he wanted to help him and the sparkling. But cycling air quietly he gave a brief nod and moved away from the room, heading to his room where the door closed. The medic continued to stand there for several kliks but sighed deeply, rubbing his servos over his faceplates.

"I'm too slagging old for this," he grumbled to himself. Now he was tempted to check in on them but held it back. First and only time he made that mistake and she shattered one of his optics by hurling her datapad at him. A klik later she was reprimanding him in the hall for being a slagging snoop who didn't understand the concept of privacy when she came out to retrieve said datapad, and threatened that the next time he tried that she was going to reformat him in several interesting ways. Glancing at the door he made his way to his own room, hoping that he could find something to do to occupy his own time.

* * *

Several breems later Bumblebee felt his system online, processor kicking on as it ran through a thorough diagnostic. Everything came back as functioning and operational. Slowly he sat up, wondering why he was feeling tired even though his chronometer said he had been offline for close to a full solar cycle. He tensed as he felt servos on his shoulders but they were keeping him steady when he felt ready to fall backwards.

"Bee? You awake?" came the concerned tone.

Frowning slightly he opened his optics and watched as his vision began to clear, focusing on the concerned dark silver faceplates and the blue-green optics. "Pssychee?" he hissed softly. His vocal cables felt sore but why? "I, I'm up, but I still feel tired."

"That's normal considering what happened; you gave everyone a scare earlier," she said softly but reaching into her subspace withdrew a cube of energon, placing it in his servos before taking another out for herself. Watching him take the first sip she sighed and sipped at her own. "Bee… Ratchet knows, about the sparkling."

He froze, the cube halfway lifted to his lip plates and his optics were wide. He carefully rested the cube on his lap when it began to slosh from trembling digits. "How?"

"You were brought in with a large hole in your chassis, so can I assume it was from Starscream?" Seeing him nod she took a klik to swear mentally if she ever got her servos on that particular seeker she was going to hack his processor so bad there would be nothing left to salvage. "You woke up during our repairs, no doubt thinking we were going to delete the sparkling but it's safe."

Was it? Not caring if the cube fell he quickly gave the command to open his chassis and sure enough he could see his own sparking humming strongly and orbiting close was a smaller spark. He released a great deal of air through his vents, reaching up to gently stroke the transparent chamber. He didn't realize he was trembling until a slender servo reached out and covered the one over his spark and lip plates pressed a kiss to his helm. "I-I thought I would gonna lose it," he admitted quietly and this time heard the soft ktches escaping his throat. "He saw *ktch*… when he forced my *ktch*my chassis open, he saw… *ktch ktch* we're not safe anymore! *ktch*"

"Starscream saw?" Seeing him nod Psyche inhaled sharply, biting back the urge to curse and scream for Skyfire to get in here. Her first instinct was to take him back to the neutral planet, to help him and ensure he and the sparkling led a safe and protected life cycle. She still sent a ping to Skyfire that she needed to speak with him later; withdrawing her servo she immediately pulled the minibot in her lap, holding him tightly like a carrier cuddling her sparkling. "It's okay, Bee. I swear to Primus everything will be alright," she cooed softly to him but now she wasn't certain if she was trying to calm him down or herself. The speedster let out a loud sob and clung to her tightly, just like he had seen the tiny human child cling to her mother figure.

* * *

 _'_ _So, a carrier continues to live on,'_ the tyrannical warlord murmured to himself. Sumdac's pocket bots were so small, he forgot he still had one residing in the Autobots' base but was pleased about the interesting bit of news he had just learned about.

He never had any use of carriers or sparklings; he had told his soldiers early on he did not care what they did, but reminded them they were soldiers for the Decepticon forces and to never forget that his word was the unbroken law. He was a warrior, fighting for the control of Cybertron, and he could not rule his mechs with an iron fight and deal with the annoyed cries of a sparkling. However, this changed things immensely.

His glitch of a SIC had, unintentionally, sparked a mech carrier, and it was possible he was not aware of it. While he could have cared less what happened to him the seeker did have his uses. He needed him if his plans were to become a reality but it was still unlikely since that fool still had in his possession the stolen protoforms. But, what if he were to hold the carrier as a prisoner? Surely the seeker would have no choice but to obey his every command or risk the deletion of said sparkling. But what if he did not care? Oh he had heard about the seekers' programming when it came to sparklings and expected carriers but that fool seemed to care more about his own skid plates than anything else.

 _'_ _So be it. Even if the mech were to lose it, I would ensure he survived long enough to carry my heir to the Decepticon forces,'_ he smirked. He rarely indulged in such carnal pleasures but what better way than to ensure his legacy for orns to come. Moving to his desk he typed the command to open a private comm link to the only bot he knew he could trust. He didn't have to wait long as the monitor revealed the faceplates of a dark gray mech.

"Lord Megatron, have may I serve you?" he asked even as his armor plating began shifting, becoming taller and less bulky.

"Shockwave, I am in need of more soldiers here on this primitive planet," he explained simply.

"As you command, Lord Megatron." Pulling up a window on his monitor he made note of the location of some of their forces. "We have several forces located on Planet Chaar, General Strika has been left in charge upon your return."

"So be it. Sent an encrypted message to her; I am in need of soldiers that I can trust to deal with these troublesome Autobots. I take it no one has yet seen through your disguise?"

"No, Lord Megatron."

"Good. Do not give me a reason to have you eliminated." With that he cut the connection on his end.

The Decepticon spy was silent for several long kliks, even as he typed a message for the general and sent it off he made sure his communication links were hidden. Being in charge of communications had advantages, and no bot would ever suspect that he was the true spy. It also helped that he had engineered that glitch Wasp's escape in secret to have all of the Elite Guard's focus off of him. However, he had his own ulterior motives himself and he had come this long not to allow himself to fail. Let those arrogant bots think they were the ones in charge, once the space dust had settled, mechs gray and lifeless, and the energon cold on the ground, he would emerge victorious with nary a scratch.

 _'_ _Soon,'_ he thought to himself. He looked up sharply when his motion sensors picked up somebot approaching his office and quickly hid his communication system and activated his disguise just in time for the door to slid open. His now blue optics narrowed slightly at the sight of the light blue and white mech standing in his doorway. "What is it, Blurr? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Ultra Magnus would like a word with you immediately, Longarm Prime," he said rapidly, staring at him coolly. "He also expresses this is important and any work you may have not completely can wait. I am to escort you to his office right now and he does not want to be kept waiting."

It took a great deal of patience and acting to keep his true emotions in check though he could swear the slender speedster could hear his own engine revving. "Very well," he said calmly even as he stood and slowly made his way out of the office, nodding as he stepped past him and into the hall. "Shall we?" he was aware that the speedster was purposely walking behind him and somehow he knew, he would have to deal with this annoying bot as soon as possible.

* * *

"Bumblebee?"

"Hmm?"

"I haven't brought it up because I was getting to know you… but, would you mind telling me about your life cycle?"

"… not gonna change anything," he murmured, his helm laying on her lap.

"No, it won't." She continued stroking the warm metal, sometimes stroking his sensory horn and smiling softly as his engine purred in content. "If you tell me yours, I'll tell you mine."

He slowly blinked, letting the proposal run around his processor for a klik or two before shifting so he was looking up at her. "You first."

"Bossy much?" she teased but nodded. Cycling air deeply she leaned her helm back, choosing her words carefully. "I wasn't always known as Psyche. My true designation was BlueStarLotus. My carrier named me after a flower he had once seen and I loved it. I got my optics and my coloring from him."

"Your carrier was a mech?"

"Mmmhmm. He was also a spy for the Elite Guard, a slagging good one from what I was told. He would go undercover as an entertainer and gather intelligence from Decepticon forces without them realizing it then report it back. My sire, was a soldier through and through. He made a name for himself but I know he loved my carrier, I could see it in his optics. They loved each other so much, they loved me and I loved them. I thought they would stay with me forever… but something happened and no matter how hard I look I can't find the records and everybot refuses to tell me anything."

Bee could feel her servo trembling and reached up to grip it tightly. "What do you know?" he asked quietly.

"… I had just entered my first frame and I was so excited, I could be more like my creators. But, my carrier was called for an important mission. The Decepticons were up to something but no bot could find out what it was; He was their only hope so he agreed. My sire was upset that the council refused to let him be in charge of the mission. I was young, but I had a terrible feeling in my spark that he wasn't going to be coming back."

 _"_ _Please, don't go!" a femme youngling cried as she clung to the slender mech._

 _"_ _Oh sweetspark, I'll be back before you have a chance to miss me," the mech smiled but hugged her back tightly, rubbing a servo up and down her back struts. But the youngling just clung even tighter, struggling not to start bawling. "Oh my little Lotus…"_

 _A larger mech watched his mate and offspring sadly; he knew how she felt, he didn't want him to go either but his skills were needed. Walking up to them he reached out, his large servo nearly dwarfing that of his bonded on the youngling's helm, his other servo pulling them both to his chassis. "Lotus, I don't want him to go either but the High Council asked for Swiftsong's skills," he said softly. "Do you remember the stories I told you about the bots we're fighting, the Decepticons?"_

 _She nodded and tilted her helm slightly in his direction, showing that she was listening._

 _"_ _They're up to something and we need to find out what. Swiftsong is the only one who can find out, and the sooner he finds out, the sooner he'll be back home to both of us."_

 _"_ _Y-You promise?"_

 _"_ _Will all my spark." Smiling softly he held them both tightly, pressing a kiss to the top of her helm. Looking at his mate he kissed his lip plates, worry evident in his light blue optics. "Be safe."_

 _"_ _I always am, big bot," he smiled._

Shuddering her optics a few times Psyche took another deep breath and reached into her subspace. She withdrew a small holoimage of two mechs, one large with a royal blue frame and traditional bright blue optics with his arm around a slender mech with a softer blue frame, silver-white accents, and blue-green optics. Sitting in the taller mech's other arm was a youngling in her first frame, one arm around the mech's neck cables and the other waving happily, a bright smile on her face plates and large blue-green optics. Handing it to the scout as he sat up she nodded to him. "That was taken after I got my first frame, before my carrier was called for the mission."

"You all look so happy," he said. The carrier was attractive and he could see a lot of Psyche in him, but the other mech looked so familiar. As he peered at the image he blinked and realized why. "Wait, that's—your sire—is Ultra Magnus?"

"Yes… my sire is the great war hero Ultra Magnus. But just because he was given the time of Magnus doesn't mean a thing to me," she said bitterly. "My carrier kept his promise, he came back. But from what I could tell he had been found out and the Decepticons tried to torture information from him. I like to believe he was too strong for them but I don't know… my last memory is seeing him in the medbay, crying for him not leave me. He just smiled sadly, said he was sorry and he loved me so much. He joined the AllSpark a few cycles later. I didn't know who I had hated more, the Decepticons for hurting my carrier, the High Council for making him take the mission, my sire for not stopping them, or my carrier for leaving me."

"Psyche…" he wanted to say he was sorry but he held it back, nearly biting his glossia. "Is that why you don't talk about, um, him?"

"I wish that was the only reason… he tried to be there for me, we were both hurting and missing Swiftsong so much, but I still had him… then he was promoted from Prime to Magnus, even changed his designation and everything changed. He became busier than ever, following the council's every request for cycles at a time. He still tried to be there for me but I kept seeing less and less of him. I didn't have many friends to begin with but suddenly everybot wanted to be my friend from those around my age to mechs in their third frames. It was overwhelming but I learned quickly they never saw me as BlueStarLotus, they saw me as the daughter of famous Ultra Magnus. I hated him for putting me in this position and I hated them so I did what any bot would do: I began fighting." Seeing the shocked look on his faceplates made her smirk but there was no emotion behind it. "I got his attention alright, but it was just to scold me and to point out that my actions reflected upon him. After a while I just stopped caring and withdrew from the world. He never seemed to notice."

Psyche explained that she entered up disguising herself as a mech and joined the Autobot boot camp when she was old enough despite Ultra Magnus forbidding her to be involved in the war at all and on the first day began by getting into fights with the other cadets. One of them seemed determined to make her cycle miserable and she did the same to him. She was so frustrated after a rather vicious fight with a cadet she broke down in a fit when she was alone and was discovered by her drill sergeant.

"Did he kick you out?" Bee asked, listening intently. She was so much like him it was almost scary.

"Actually no; he said that he knew who I really was from the beginning, that he knew my carrier and he said he hated the council for making him take such a risky mission. But he said that my sire was an idiot and needed to format a pair just to tell the high Council to frag off once in a while," she sighed, chuckling at the memory. "Kup Minor called it as he saw it, and I called him out on it but what he said next made me stop and realize I wasn't cut out to be a soldier but it didn't mean I couldn't help in my own way. He convinced me to join the Protihex Medical Mechanics University and even gave me my new designation."

 _"_ _Psyche? Why that?" the disguised femme asked with an optic ridge raised._

 _"_ _Cuz I've seen ya tear the other cadets to the core with yer words alone. Sentinel is an aft and thinks he's Primus' gift to Cybertron but in a matter of kliks you pointed out all his faults, his weaknesses, and made him begin to question his own programming," he explained as he puffed at his cy-gar. "Imagine what ya could do if you used that processor of yours to help bots."_

 _"_ _You mean the Autobot soldiers," she mumbled._

 _"_ _Never said autobots, kid." Cycling air through his system he held his cy-gar between his digits. "Look, Swiftsong was a Pitt of a mech, carrier or not. And I know if he were here, he'd tell ya to do what ya want to and frag what anybot says. So now the question is, whacha gonna do?"_

"Wait, you were in boot camp with Sentinel?" Okay, that explained why she seemed to have it in for the big-chinned aft.

"And Optimus and Elita-1 along with a few others but I never attempted to be their friend although they tried. And again I was wearing a mech's frame so I doubt they remember me. So I went to the university where I was taught how to deal with damaged processors and trained to help others from soldiers who had seen too much war to orphaned sparklings who lost everything. I was even under Ratchet's tutelage as well as other medics but he was the one who I stayed in contact with after I became a neutral."

"Oh. Why'd you become a neutral?"

"… Let's just say, even the most noble Autobot can turn into your worse enemy and a cold-sparked Decepticon can prove that he has to capacity to care about somebot other than themselves." She should have known better, but that incident had been enough for her to open her optics. Venting softly she accepted the holoimage back and nodded to him. "Your turn. But just tell me what you're comfortable with."

The yellow scout blinked and slowly stared down at his lap, his gaze unfocused. "I don't want you to think less of me…" he shivered as he felt him move and sit behind him, wrapping her servos around him and pulling him against her chassis.

"Never sweetspark."

"… I never knew my carrier or sire, everybot I asked said I was abandoned but I never found out why. So I spent my cycle as a sparkling in a youth center for other abandoned and orphaned younglings. I deleted those memories but I remember no one held me or comforted me like you do, they only took care of me because no one wanted to deal with a dead sparkling. Everything changed when I grew into my first frame and they just gave me this oversized bulky armor plating they had stashed somewhere. It was the first time somebot ever gave me something and I didn't care if it was old, dented, and too big; it was mine." Even now he ran his digits over the yellow plating and slowly let his optics drift close.

"I learned early on I was different from everybot else, I was a minibot. I was never gonna be tall enough or strong enough and the other younglings made fun of me for it. It didn't stop me from trying but nothing I did worked and they just teased me even more. I hated it, I hated myself."

"What about the caretakers?" Psyche asked softly.

"They didn't care about any of us. I tried at first but the other younglings called me a sparkling and teased me even more, even stole my energon when the caretakers weren't looking and lied about it. I couldn't depend on anybot and kept to myself. But even though I was small I was fast." At this he smiled a bit, looking down at his wheels. "I just entered my second frame and I discovered that I loved racing, I loved the way the wind felt against my frame, I loved how fast I could move, and when I sped around everyone watched me. I was fast enough to beat the older younglings in races and soon the other younglings were cheering for me. I was finally getting attention but not everybot was happy for me."

"There's always one bot who hates when the spotlight is taken away."

"try several. I got cocky and sure of myself, I started bragging that I was the fastest thing on wheels and no bot could beat me. I shoulda known better. One of the older younglings that always picked on me challenged me to a race outside the center at night, outside the security gate. Just the two of us and winner was the fastest bot around."

 _"_ _But, we're not supposed to be outside the gate at all," the tiny yellow mech said. "what if they check on us and we're not in our berths?"_

 _"_ _Aww! Is the minibot sparkling afraid?" the taller youngling sneered, his buddies snickering behind him. "You're just a big sparkling, I bet you'll never get any bigger."_

 _"_ _He's a liar too, faster than any of us? Then prove it, short stuff!"_

 _He was so mad, he couldn't help it if he was a minibot! "I'm faster than you-you glitches put together! And I'll prove it tonight!"_

 _"_ _Bring it, midget!" the youngling snapped._

"We met outside that night, when everybot was asleep. But we weren't alone. That glitch's friends set traps around the area we were gonna race to make me lose; I woulda won but I fell for them. I called them out on it and they said I was just being a spoiled sparkling. So, I snapped and said at least I had talent and didn't have to cheat like them and I was still the fastest bot around. They-" he froze and clutched the arms around him tightly, trying not to begin trembling. "they…"

"Bee? It's okay, you don't have to continue," the femme said softly but he shook his helm, optics opening in memory.

"They… beat me up, but that was the day I fought back. I was tired of being called little and being made fun of, I wasn't gonna let them do it anymore. I guess they didn't like that because they pinned me to the ground and then the leader had a different punishment in mind." He didn't want to think about it but he managed to force the words out, how his main tormentor began touching him in places he knew he shouldn't, making vulgar comments he didn't understand but he knew he didn't like it. "But the worse part was… I-I liked it." There was a sharp intake of air before the arms tightened around him even more. This time he couldn't stop the trembling and clung to the arms even tighter, digging his digits into the aqua blue frame. "We-We were found out and got in trouble, I was hoping they would leave me alone after that but they didn't stop. They tried to get me alone and continue where they left off, cornering me and saying stuff like they were going to put my big mouth to use. I learned real quick what they meant and I knew that I didn't want any part of it. I began fighting back, yelling at them long enough to get somebot's attention then escape. I tired telling the caretakers but they didn't care so I had to figure out a way to get them back.

"I began to prank them, like switching their plating with that of some femme, dropped oil on them and made it look like they had done it, little stuff. The other younglings got a kick out if it, they laughed so hard and no one ever knew it was me. But that just made them even madder. I shoulda known better but for once bots were paying attention to me and I liked it. But, it got worse real fast one day…"

 _The small mech sighed as he rubbed a cleaning cloth over his plating. There was a stubborn scuff mark he tried rubbing out but nothing short of a good wax would remove it. Sadly, the caretakers weren't about to let a nameless youngling have some no matter how much he begged. He was alone in the room where all the younglings slept, sitting on his berth, he never heard somebot enter, never heard the door close and lock, never realized there was somebot behind him until he was forced onto his back plates and pressed into his berth roughly._

 _"_ _H-hey! Get off!" he shouted and tried to kick but froze when he felt a heavier and larger frame press into him, vents puffing hot air._

 _"_ _You think you're so much better than me," the youngling hissed into his receiver, grabbing his servos and pinning them over his helm. "I told you, just get me to overload and I'll leave you alone. Instead you make me and my friends look bad in front of the other younglings."_

 _"_ _Y-You glitches do that on your own!" he snapped, refusing to show this bully his fear. He cringed when he felt his servos roughly stroke his plating, painfully digging into seams and making his system begin to heat up. "S-Stop it!"_

 _"_ _Not this time, minibot," he hissed and pressed their cod pieces together, rubbing hard enough to create friction. A smirk touched his lip plates when he watched the yellow youngling shift beneath him, optics shut tight but he could hear his cooling fans kicking on. "You like this."_

 _"_ _N-N-No-o! I do-don't!" He didn't so why was his system heating up like this? He squirmed as hard as he could and managed to score a kick but cried out in pain as his other servo grabbed at his knee joint, digging digits in the gaps of the large fitting frame and squeeze the protoflesh as hard as he could. "S-S-St-top it-it-t!"_

"He didn't stop," he whispered lowly. "This time, I knew he was going to do whatever he wanted and no one was going to help me." He shut his optics tightly once more as he forced the memory free. "I was so scared, I didn't care if he called me a sparkling I started crying, begging him to stop, screaming for somebot, anybot, to help me. I g-guess, Primus heard me 'cuz next thing I knew the caretakers were pulling him off me. I clung to one of them and tr-tried to tel-l-ll them what hap-hap-happened but-but I couldn't… he-he lied! They sa-said I wan-wanted it but I didn't! I didn't!"

"It's okay, they're not here, Bee, they're not here anymore," she said softly, silently rocking him back and forth, trying to protect a calming energy field although she felt mad enough to rip those idiot caretakers apart. How could they have been left in charge of younglings and allow this to happen? "They believed your tormentors over you." He nodded and she breathed deeply. "And then?"

"I-I didn't want it… I did-didn't…" He remembered that memory vividly. It was the same memory he swore he had deleted but Starscream managed to find it and replayed it over and over for him. He never wanted somebot touching him like that, he hated it, he hated them. "Th-They saw… everybot saw…" Primus, he wanted to die when one of the younglings pointed out the lubricant coming from between his stabilizers, and the smug looks on his would-be rapist's faceplates. "I-I was so ma-ma-mad, I—I attacked-ed him-m." No, he didn't attack him, he tried to destroy him. He was smaller, weaker, but he was fast on his peds. He called him every name he had heard and even managed to shatter the optics of his tormentor before the caretakers pulled him off. "No b-b-bot wanted to-to l-listen to me and I was s-se-sent to 'no-'nother center. No bot e-e-ever cared, so I s-s-started-ed pranking-ing to get some a-atten-t-tion…"

"You were so starved for it, you would accept whatever was given." He nodded silently. "You were transferred from one center to another until you were old enough to enter the boot camp, where you decided you would become an Elite Guard, somebot who would protect others like those caretakers should have done with you." Primus, how could somebot so young have suffered so slagging much? Slowly her arms loosened and she gently tilted his faceplates to her own, smiling softly and kindly.

"Bumblebee, no bot should have gone through what you did. Especially not the humiliation at the servos of some sick mech regardless of age. But right now you have a team who cares about you and loves you, a team that has been looking for you the moment you went missing and didn't stop until you were back home." Reaching up she gently rested her servo on his chassis where his spark pulsed. "Your sparkling was the result of a manipulated rape; Starscream used your own insecurities against you and made you think you wanted it. Maybe you did, maybe you didn't, but it wasn't right and he knew it."

"… but I-I belie-lieved him. He-He said, no one ca-cared about m-me," he whispered, covering her servo with his own, trying to keep it from trembling. "What, what if they-they decide I'm a tra-traitor and take me to pri-prison like Wasp? It-it ruined him."

"that won't happen. If they call you a traitor and even think about taking you to prison or harm you and the sparkling in anyway, then I'm taking you back with me," Psyche said firmly. "Torkulon is a neutral planet and its visited by both Autobots and Decepticons because the beings there only want to help those in need. It's also a cease-fire planet, a haven for those who want nothing to do with this stupid war and that includes orphaned sparklings of all ages and soldiers who had seen too much." She reached up and held his faceplates in both servos, pressing another kiss to his forehelm. "I will never let anything happen to you."

No one ever cared so much about him, willing to defy everybot with a single bit of authority. He could feel sobs threatening to burst free and once more threw himself into her arms. In the back of his processor he wondered if this was what it felt like to have a carrier care about him and vowed to be the best carrier he could be for his sparkling, regardless of its sire.

* * *

Slipstream didn't try to understand what went on in the processor of her "creator" or her "brothers", she was too busy looking out for herself. She thought that him seeing the minibot was just something to get out of his system, a toy he would get bored with and toss aside when he was done. Instead he had to go and get attached then angry when he refused him.

 _'_ _Glitch ever think about the mess he's making?'_ she thought bitterly as she headed for the location she knew the Autobots were hiding. _'Of course the Autobot's not gonna believe him! He's been lying to him since day one! And now Skywarp's gone all crazed over something that may not even exist!'_ Slipstream was the type of seeker who believed in what she saw with her own optics and not what everybot told her, so when she heard Starscream muttering something about the Autobot having been sparked she set out to find out for herself.

She hasn't been online for very long, but she didn't like how her own programming was demanding she search for the yellow mech and protect him, to make sure he was safe. She didn't like him, she didn't even like Starscream so why should she risk her own skid plates for some mech? It was enough to make her processor ache and fuel pumps work harder. Banking on the air she headed for the outskirts of the human city and noticed the factory in the distance but as she got closer she was unaware of being watched.

"Is that the traitor?"

"No, that is one of the clones that the traitor created."

"We should capture him and I can use my skills to make him give up the location of that traitorous seeker." There was a muffled klang as a closed servo struck the owner of the voice in the back of a helm with just enough force to shut his mouth.

"That seeker is a femme, and our orders were to capture the sparked Autobot and bring him to Lord Megatron," he pointed out and once more was internally thinking why General Strika had sent him to this miserable planet.

"Besides, the last time you tried "your skills" it was on our leader and you spent the following deca-cycle being repaired by Scalpel."

"No I didn't! … It was an orn."

"Yeah, like that's any better."

"If the two of you don't shut your lip plates I will personally weld them shut," the third hissed and leveled a menacing glare at them. The two wisely kept any biting comments to themselves and he turned back to watch as the turquoise and purple seeker continued on her flight. He would rather be paving the way for the glorious descent of the Emperor of Destruction but he would have to bid his time and wait.

* * *

Skywarp had been watching the factory closely and once more tried to quell the urge to storm inside, located the carrier, and teleport him somewhere safe. He had an idea of where he would be protected but he needed to get to him first. Pondering on how he could do it he looked up sharply when he heard the sound a familiar and unwelcoming engine overhead. Before he would have been fearful and buried himself in the ground in hopes that he wouldn't be found, but his protective instincts were going into overdrive which in turn fueled his aggression.

 _'_ _Threat detected,'_ he snarled to himself, the air rippling around him as he teleported.

There was the factory but the femme wasn't an idiot (something she was immensely proud of) and knew if she tried to land anywhere too close or tried to sneak in she would be caught in less than a klik. She scanned the area for a suitable place to land and wait for the perfect opportunity when she suddenly saw a jet appear right in front of her.

"What the—SLAG!" she cursed and performed a tight barrel roll to avoid getting hit but there was a searing pain as something scored a shallow slash on the underside of one of her wings. Letting out several rather colorful curses she was forced to land, transforming along the way only to feel a heavy mass land on her back struts and forced her to nearly swallow a mouthful of organic dirt. It was enough to make her let up another colorful storm of curses but froze when she felt the hot muzzle of a gun at the back of her helm.

"Give me a reason not to eliminate you right here, right now," came a threatening growl.

"If you don't get off me and move that slagging gun away from me I won't rip your helm off," she hissed but her optics widen when she felt the hum of power, indicating he was ready to start firing. "I'm not here to harm the Autobot!"

"… Prove it."

"How am I suppose to do—alright alright!" She finally felt the gun pull back and the heavy weight remove itself but as she got to her peds she could see a growling Skywarp had both arm-mounted guns ready to open fire at point-blank range. "I just want to see if it's true; is that minibot really sparked by our glitch creator?"

"It's true, I saw his spark myself." He frowned when she demanded proof but he didn't trust her near the carrier. And he was certainly not going to let her into his processor just so he could show her an image. "You have to take my word."

The femme sneered before throwing his words right back at him. "Then you'll have to believe my words, also! But Starscream isn't taking this lightly; he's convinced the Autobot tricked him and isn't going to stop until he sees the proof for himself." In her short cycle she had never seen the violet seeker as anything but a yellow-chassis coward who would hide behind the nearest bot while begging not to be harmed. No, the mech before her was the completely opposite and the protective rage in his optics was enough to scare even her.

"If he harms Bumblebee or the sparkling, I'll tear his artificial spark from his chassis myself," he growled lowly.

* * *

"How's the kid?"

Psyche looked up from the datapad and cycled air softly, leaning back in her seat. "Depends, right now he's sleeping but no one should have gone through the slag he went through. And if we ever find that pathetic excuse for a mech I'm tearing him apart circuit by circuit and Primus help anybot that tries to stop me."

"I was afraid of that," Ratchet muttered and pulled another chair closer. They were currently in his quarters since Skyfire was fixing Prowl's audio receiver in the medbay next door. Neither of them said anything for several long kliks and he knew even if he asked the femme wasn't going to tell him anything Bumblebee told her. "What's your diagnosis?"

"Not sure where to begin… severe neglect and abuse, he could almost be classified with BBS with some of his symptoms I've noticed," she said as she glanced down at her datapad.

"Battered bot syndrome… Psyche, I'm worried about the sparkling. Is, are we gonna have to watch him?" That had been one of his biggest fears since he found out and he was afraid of hearing her answer.

"Surprisingly no. Regardless of who the sire is, Bee is determined to keep the sparkling and raise it by himself if he has to. I believe this stems from his own experiences as a sparkling himself; but if anybot catches on that half its coding is a Decepticon-"

"I got it. Then… he's not safe. Neither of them are safe here or on Cybertron." He held his servo up when Psyche looked ready to say something. "just, hear me out. Starscream has been trying to overthrow Megatron even before we crash landed here, but I also know that bucket-head will take any advantage he can get his servos on to make sure he wins this war."

"Do you think he'd really use an innocent sparkling like, some bargaining chip?" she hissed lowly.

"I think he'll use the kid as a breeder to ensure he had a ready army of loyal soldiers, ones he has personally trained and no doubt sired himself." He watched the datapad snap in half in her servos, knowing that she was imagining a certain mech's helm in its place. "For now, the kid's safety is our top priority."

"Pitt yes it is! Skyfire can take us both to Torkulon if we have to!"

"Make that a last solution, Psyche. But I only know this city, I'm not sure if there is a place safe for him," he vented, feeling his vorns weigh even heavier on his helm. Both medics looked up when they could hear arguing behind the door that separated the medbay from his own quarters before it slid open. Prowl stumbled in, the protective plating from his damaged receiver missing, a few wires sparking but he stopped and nodded to them.

"I-I knOW WHERe Bum-BUM-BuMMbLEBEE—WILL be sAFe!" he said, his vocalization rising and falling in volume as though he wasn't able to hear very well.

"I'm sorry, I was in the middle of repairs," Skyfire said as he entered the room, a pair of standard-sized tweezers in his servos (though in his servos they looked miniscule). He was quick to grab the ninja when he tried moving only to nearly fall. "I'm sorry, again."

The white and red medic grumbled something inaudible as he rose from his seat and in a few moves as possible, had the black and gold ninja sitting medical berth and went about finishing the repair to his receiver. "Looks like the blow also did some damage to his gyro-stabilizer."

"teach him not to be so slagging nosey," the femme muttered but watched as the medic worked. Hearing the large seeker move to stand next to her she sent him a ping. **~Skyfire, you told me a seeker is not capable of hurting a carrier who's sparked, correct?~**

 **~it goes against our base programming.~**

 **~Can they delete the program or find a way to block it?~**

 **~it's never been heard of, but I suppose it could… though the risks would be great.~** he paused and took a moment to look at her, his optics a sorrowful shade of blue. **~it's part of any seeker's original program. To even try and rewrite the coding, it would affect other parts of the processor, possibly even change their personality core permanently.~**

 **~Fragging slag.~** She heard rumors that Starscream was once a brilliant scientist, but would he be stupid enough to do something that risky? And wouldn't that affect the AllSpark fragment he currently held? **~Okay, what if the seeker is the sire of a sparkling? Would the same programming activate? What if said seeker doesn't want anything to do with the sparkling?~**

Skyfire's optics shuttered, blinking rapidly even as he slowly turned and stared at the floor, uncertainty in his optics. **~I… I… do not know… I, have never meet a seeker, who did not treasure a sparkling above anything else… I-I cannot… imagine one** ** _harming_** **one on purpose…~**

Psyche immediately felt guilty and reaching out gripped his large servo in her smaller one, holding it tightly. **~I'm sorry. I shouldn't expect you to know all the answers,~** she said quickly. Despite his large frame the seeker was a pacifist, he would never join the war and he enjoyed helping those on their neutral planet. He loved playing with the many sparklings and younglings and she knew, he wanted to have some of his own one day. He squeezed her servo back for a quick klik but it was his silent way of thanking her.

"There, done," ratchet said and placed the protective plating back on. "Now what are you talking about."

"I said, I know where Bumblebee and his sparkling will both be safe," Prowl said slowly. "Dinobot Island."

The femme looked at him in confusion, an optic ridge raised. "Whatbot island?"

"The island that nearly blew up under our peds those solar cycles ago," the medic explained, crossing his servos over his chassis. "And where exactly is he gonna stay? And what about the Dinobots? Who's to say those techno-organics aren't hiding somewhere, ready to attack?"

"Although a large portion was destroyed it is still inhabitable. When I went to help return the Dinobots to their island Skyfire was kind enough to scan the remaining landmass before landing to reveal no Cybertronium signatures anywhere," he quickly explained. "There is no sign of Waspinator or Blackarchnia at all. Now whether they're off-line or not, I do not know."

"Fine, so they're not around. I still don't see those walking flamethrowers accepting another bot to move into their home," Ratchet pointed out.

"We can simply asked them for their assistance," Skyfire spoke up. "I've had a chance to speak with them and while they possess very simple processors, they are willing to listen if you speak in simple terms."

"And they know Bumblebee, when they were temporarily staying here he made an effort to get to know them, even taught them how to play video games," Psyche pointed out. "They're like sparklings in complete third-frames. Would you banish a sparkling for acting out when no bot ever bothered to teach them right from wrong?"

"… I don't know them that well, but I guess I see your point," he mumbled but shook his helm. "But there's one bot we haven't thought to ask his opinion about all this." All three bots looked at each other before turning to him. "We have to talk to Bumblebee."

* * *

The yellow minibot stirred, rolling onto his back plates he slowly opened his optics, onlining them. He watched as his system reported everything as being normal and running at full capacity across his display. He didn't get up right away, instead he trailed his servo along his chassis, venting air softly as the plates shifted open and trailed digits along his spark casting. The gentle light and hum that filled the small room made him smile and if he focused on it, he could hear the even softer hum of his developing sparkling.

 _'_ _I, think I had a dream about you,'_ he thought to it quietly, still smiling _. 'I saw… a seeker. Strong, sleek, beautiful. I don't know how I knew it, but it was you. You looked so happy and carefree, you were born to fly…'_ Was it normal for a carrier to be dreaming about their sparkling? What if the sparkling was born a grounder like himself?

A gentle vibration filled his chamber and it made him moan ever so softly, face plates heating up. He pressed his digits firmly against the casting, rubbing just a little bit harder as his other servo slowly began tracing seams on his plating. He wanted to stop touching himself but he couldn't, and it was beginning to feel really good. Cooling fans were beginning to hum as his frame began heating up, sensory network were starting to run on high, Bee couldn't help but moan softly as his digits slipped beneath gaps of his armor and caressed wires. His logic circuits tried to tell him he shouldn't be doing this but there wasn't anything wrong with it. It was just his own servos, no one else just—him. Yellow digits slid down his chassis, stroking the malleable mesh of his stomach area then sliding to his pelvic armor. Now the heat had increased, pleasure nodes begging to be stroked and he obliged. He whimpered softly as his digits caressed his plating, stabilizers spreading he never heard his cod piece retracting or interface panel sliding open. Soft whimpers escaped clenched denta as his servo brushed over his pressurized spike, wrapping digits around it he began stroking firmly, smearing drops of transfluid but it wasn't enough until his other servo slid down and pushed his digits into his wet valve.

 _'_ _O-Oh Primus—not enough! But so—so good!'_ he moaned lowly, eager to feel something larger filling his valve, thrusting in and out deeply, stroking his internal sensory nodes. His frame arched off the berth, servos stroking faster, harder, desperate to reach overload. With his optics off he imagined it was another mech doing this to him, their servos touching him, seeking out his pleasure. _'Ahh! Yes, yes deeper! Please!'_ he moaned as his frame arched again, digits sliding in as deep as they could, lubricant spilling free onto the berth. Th mech in his fantasy was starting to take shape and it was a tall mech, slender, but he was too tall to be Prowl. His servos nearly stopped when he realized the mech had wings but it wasn't Starscream. The attitude and coloring was wrong… so who…?

 _"_ _I will protect you, carrier."_

 _'_ _S-Skywarp!'_ Bumblebee managed to keep from screaming out the designation as he experienced a small overload. Falling onto his berth he lay there, cycling air rapidly and waiting for his system to cool down before he withdrew his digits from his valve and spike. He didn't have to look down to see the transfluid on his frame, he could feel it slipping into gaps of his armor. After several long kliks he slowly sat up and swung his peds off the side before standing and grabbed a clean soft cloth. Luckily his chassis closed when he had stopped touching it or else he would be cleaning the evidence of his overload from his spark chamber.

 _'_ _Don't think you'd like that,'_ he thought fondly to the tiny sparkling. Cleaning up his frame he had the protective plates slid close then cleaned off his berth. Tossing it to the side he sighed but he didn't want to go back to sleep. Looking around his room he looked at the door before stepping out. He didn't see anybot in the hall and Prowl's door was open but he wasn't inside. Venting softly he walked down but flinched when he heard something rather loud coming from Ratchet's room.

"I-I—OW WHER—BUM—MM—LEBEE—WILL—AF—."

"Oww! Was that Prowl?" he asked himself, rubbing his audio receiver he slowly made his way to the door and listened in. he couldn't make out a lot but he could hear Ratchet, Psyche, Prowl and the large seeker Skyfire. He pulled back and lightly touched a large square-shaped dent on the door but he was still debating whether or not he should knock. He didn't know what they could be talking about but he had a feeling it was about him. Frowning he touched his chassis, right above where his spark rested but he couldn't move away.

 _'_ _If, they're talking about me, shouldn't I be in there?'_ Well, he had just woken up so maybe they didn't want to disturb him but he was awake now. He stood outside the room for several long kliks, debating whether to not to knock or go to his room before reaching out, intending to knock but blinked when the door opened and he could hear the voices much clearer now.

"They're like sparklings in complete third-frames. Would you banish a sparkling for acting out when no bot ever bothered to teach them right from wrong?"

"… I don't know them that well, but I guess I see your point. But there's one bot we haven't thought to ask his opinion about all this." There was a brief pause. "We have to talk to Bumblebee."

"Talk to me about what?" he asked and smiled sheepishly as four set of optics turned to him. "Sorry. I was trying to knock but the door was open."

"Are you alright, Bumblebee? Was there anything you needed?" the Cyber Ninja immediately asked, coming to his side, ready to help him in anything he should ask.

"I'm fine. Just tired of sleeping and staring at eh same four walls in my room," he admitted. He walked over the medical berth and sat down, looking at everybot in turn. "So, what did you want to ask me?"

"… Kid, I need ya to hear me out, a'right?" The minibot slowly nodded and the medbot took a deep breathe. "We think for the safety of you and your sparkling, you should leave Detroit. Not forever, but long enough until we can figure out what to do."

"If Megatron ever finds out that Starscream got you sparked, there's no telling what he would do and we refuse to take any risks," Psyche continued. "I already told you I will take you to Torkulon and I still stand by it. But your friend brought up another suggestion."

"I suggest you stay on Dinobot Island. No one knows the Dinobots are currently residing there and I believe they would be welcome to you if we simply ask them," Prowl commented. "But, the choice is yours, Bumblebee. Whatever you decide, we will accept."

The yellow mech blinked slowly and stared down at his lap. He, would have to leave Detroit? but that would mean leaving Sari behind. She was-is his best friend but would Dinobot Island really be safe? Would Starscream ever think to look for him there? He nervously began knawing on his bottom lip plate, weighing the pros and cons in his processor but after a bit he slowly nodded. "I-think it's a good idea." Looking up at them he smiled softly. "Grimlock isn't that bad. He's kinda reminds me of Optimus and Sentinel if you combined the two. He's really protective on what he considers his, and I get that, but it just means he'll protect it no matter what. And he does look after the other Dinobots even if he yells at them but they listen to him. And sure he fell for spider bot's tricks but that doesn't mean he's a bad bot."

Ratchet didn't seem sure but sighed and moved to stand before him then slowly reached out and rested his servo on his helm. "If that's what you want, but I want to make sure you have a place to recharge. And that also means no fighting and no racing until I say so, got me?"

"Yes, sir!" he saluted and managed to dodge the light slap aimed for the back of his servo. Oh it felt like it had been too long since he had laughed like that but he stopped when he realized something. "I gotta tell everyone else."

"I rather not let anymore mechs know about this but the more who know the better protected you will be," Psyche said softly she got up from her seat and walked to his side, wrapping her servo around him and hugging him to her side. "We'll be there for you when you tell them."

"Everyone?" he looked at them hopefully. Prowl smiled and reaching out took his servo in his own, giving it a tight squeeze.

"All of us."

A breem or two later found a nervous Bumblebee standing in the middle of the Autobots' living room, standing before the large flat-screen TV. Now he was regretting not having Prowl or Pysche standing with him but he told them he needed to do this. Looking at them he was greeted with encouraging smiles and took strength from that.

"I-I need to tell you all about what happened, when I had been captured by Starscream," he said, feeling a bit proud when his vocalization didn't stutter or burst into static.

"Are you certain, Bumblebee? You were adamant in not giving us the full details," Optimus said with a hint of worry.

"I know, but something happened and you have a right to know." It took everything he had not to touch his chassis or his stomach but he explained the lies that the seeker had told him, how he wanted his help in locating the AllSpark fragments so they could rule Cybertron together. He paused when Sentinel made a rude noise but continued. He also told them about how he had made a holovideo of his team calling him a glitch and how he was nothing but a nuisance to the team.

"But we'd never say that!" Bulkhead immediately said, jumping to his peds.

"I know that now but he kept playing it so much I started believing it. But I wish that was all he did…" he tried not to think about the way the seeker's servos felt on his frame and told them about everything else he had done. Including touching him and hacking into his memory bank, bringing up several painful memories he had sealed away. It was beginning to get so much he found himself stumbling over his words, bursts of static making it difficult to be heard he could not bring himself to tell them what happened. He felt servos pulling him into a chassis and clung to the frame tightly.

"It's okay, no one is going to judge you," Prowl said softly, trying to get him to calm down.

"I-I'm sorry *ktch*, I'm try-try-trying *ktch*," he stuttered softly. "I *ktch* can't…"

"Bee, do you want me…?" Psyche offered and the minibot quietly nodded. Nodding she cycled air deeply and simply said, "Starscream manipulated Bumblebee into interfacing with him." It was so quiet in the warehouse, the sound of the minibot's quiet sobs the only noise in the air. "He twisted his processor to the point where he believed anything the seeker told him, including how you mechs didn't care about him and were never going to come to his rescue."

"That's a lie!" Optimus shouted, startling everyone. "I would've never left him behind!"

"Calm down, Optimus. He knows that now but that glitch was playing processor games with him," Ratchet said firmly before the younger mech could go on a rant. "The signs were there but we didn't know what to do, I didn't know what to do."

"But, you is medic yes?" Jetfire asked.

"I heal external injuries, what he went through goes a lot deeper than anything I trained for." The medic nodded to where Psyche was sitting who was looking at Bee worriedly. "I called her 'cuz I knew she had studied processor damage on traumatized bots. If anyone could help Bee, it would be her."

"So that's it? He was acting out 'cuz he believed some Decepticon's lie?" Sentinel demanded sarcastically, crossing his servos over his chassis. "Another reason he never woulda made it as an Elite Guard!"

"Sentinel, shut your lip plates or I swear to Primus and Unicron I will weld them shut myself!" the femme snapped angrily as she glared at him. The large chinned mech stared at her before snorting and looked away. "Anyway, that's not why we're talking to everybot today. We, discovered something that may have put Bumblebee's spark in danger."

"Danger? What danger being?" Jetstorm asked worriedly. Psyche looked away, not feeling comfortable about saying this but before she could muster the courage the minibot spoke up so quietly it was almost inaudible.

"I'm sparked." Slowly, pale blue optics opened and he looked at the shocked faceplates and nodded slowly. "I, I'm really sparked. And the sire—it's Starscream." Silence filled the air, the words repeating in their processor. Bee nervously clutched at the ninja who continued holding him, looking at them in turn before settling on his commanding officer. "B-Boss bot?"

Optimus blinked and slowly with hesitant steps, walked up to the minibot. He stopped in front of him, watching as he turned to fully face him. He didn't say anything but slowly reaching up he quietly placed his servo on his shoulder joint and nodded slowly. "Bumblebee, you are not only a member of my team but you are also my friend. I'm sorry you had to go through something like that, but I'm sorry I failed you as your commanding officer. Can you forgive me?"

"Optimus…" Looking at him he didn't stop to think about his actions but he didn't care as he closed the small gap and wrapped his servos around him as tightly as he could. He wanted to tell him there was nothing to forgive but there was too much static to get his message clear. The Prime smiled down at the smaller mech and hugged him back, vowing to protect him and his sparkling.

"That sparkling needs to be deleted immediately."

Helms whirled so fast gears grinded against one another but all optics were focused solely on the mech who dared to speak such a statement. "What did you say?" Skyfire asked in a strained tone, digits twitching as though they longed to wrap around the other Prime's neck cables and snap his helm clean off.

"You heard him! He allowed himself to interface with a Decepticon—the second-in-command to Megatron himself!" Sentinel snapped, unaware of ignoring the furious optics focused solely on him. "That thing needs to be deleted and that mech arrested for treason!"

"Bumblebee has committed no acts of treason and I'm not about to let an arrogant glitch like you anywhere near him!" Optimus yelled at him and even pushed the minibot behind him as though to protect him.

"I give the orders here! Jetfire! Jetstorm! Arrest that traitor!" neither of the jettwins moved from their spot. "Did you glitches hear me? Arrest him!"

"We is not obeying your order," Jetstorm said calmly, his visor a dark shade of blue.

"We is not hurting sparkling or friend Bumblebee," Jetfire said firmly. "He is doing nothing wrong."

"W-What!?" His own subordinates were refusing his direct orders? Snarling he reached into his subspace and produced a pair of stasis cuffs and began advancing on the minibot. "I'll do it myself!" The moment he took a step towards them chaos broke loose. No one had ever seen the large seeker as more than a calm, quiet, non-violent mech. So it was a shock to everyone when he charged at the navy blue Prime and violently slammed him into the wall, a look of pure rage on his faceplates.

"You will not harm the sparked carrier!" he snarled angrily as a large servo began squeezing his helm tightly, trying to crush it. The Autobots rushed forward to try and keep the combiner from outright destroying the Prime but he was running on pure instinct right now. There was a flash of light and soon the gestalt form of Safeguard managed to pull the shuttle mech off. "Why are you protecting him?!" he demanded angrily.

"He is Prime, he is commanding us," the combiner said thought there was a slight hitch in their vocalization.

"Seekers do not obey glitches who threaten harm to a sparkling!"

The Autobots were too busy arguing with one another and once more Skyfire made to charge at the slightly injured Prime but instead found himself fighting Safeguard. Psyche tried to get her friend to calm down but he refused to listen. That left a still shocked Bumblebee unprotected, still frozen from the dark blue Prime's words.

 _"_ _That sparkling needs to be deleted immediately."_

No… this, was his sparkling. His! He didn't care if the sire was Starscream, he wanted to keep the sparkling! He wanted to watch it grow up and experience the joy of flying! He wanted her to live! His servos came up, clutching his chassis as tightly as he could. Her… he called it a her… did that mean-?

"This ends now, traitor!" Sentinel roared, energy lance held tightly in his servo, ready to drive it into his trembling frame but instead he watched as it sank into the thick forest green frame of the space bridge engineer/wrecker.

"B-Bulkhead!"

"R-Run, little bud-dy-dy-dy," he managed to sputter out even as one of his clawed servos grabbed the Prime's arm, keeping him from pulling the lance out.

"Let go, you outdated glitch!" But the mech refused to let go and when he tried to bring up his shield the other large servo closed around his arm, nearly crushing it in his grip. "Slagging Pitt!"

"R-Run!"

Bumblebee's eyes were impossibly wide but his own creator instincts were kicking into overdrive and they were telling him to get as far away from the Prime as possible, to find somewhere safe so his sparkling would be safe. Transforming his tires burned tracks into the floor as he bolt out of the factory, ignoring the worried cries of his friends, tearing through the streets of Detroit. He would lay down his own spark if it meant his sparkling—his daughter—would be safe.

~ To be continued… ~

 **Author's Notes:** Another chapter done! I was having a hard time trying to get it done but I'm happy its completed. Now, I took some liberties with Bumblebee's past since they never went into detail about it so I figure growing up he was teased a lot and being a minibot didn't help. I also threw in a bit about Psyche's history and may or may not do a side-story about her.

Now, I'm sure a lot of readers want to kill Sentinel for what he just said. So did I but don't worry, the mechs and femme are not letting that glitch anywhere near Bee or the sparkling. Next chapter Starscream is gonna confront Bee about the sparkling and construction will begin on Dinobot Island for Bee's new/temporarily home. Later!


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** Hello? (dodges thrown trash) I swear Bulkhead isn't dead! I like him too much it just happened! "Peers behind hiding place) I need Sentinel is be a bigger ass than he's already show, he's so by the book its pitiful but don' worry, he's not getting away with what he did in the last chapter Scott free. So here's the latest ranking in the polls:

Prowl: 11

Starscream: 9

Optimus Prime: 2

Other: 4 (Bulkhead, Skywarp)

Ninja bot is still in the lead, 'Screamy in second, others in third, and boss bot is pulling up the rear. Aaw… I like boss bot even if he needs to loosen up just a tiny bit. Well, remember the polls are still open so if you haven't voted yet, do so! If you have, thank you! Now onto the story!

BTW, below is fighting, injured mechs, and an unexpected rescuer. Enjoy!

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

Sari hummed happily to herself as she flew to the Autobot's headquarters, thinking of how excited bumblebee would be when he saw that she had managed to get an advance copy of Ninja Gladiators 2. She wasn't suppose to have it but her dad managed to pull some strings and get it for her—as long as she promised not to show anyone else. That wasn't exactly a problem; her best friend was a giant alien robot.

 _'_ _I can't wait to see the look on his faceplates!'_ she giggled; she was now able to see the old factory in sight but her heightened hearing picked up the slightly muffled sounds of someone yelling. Frowning she remembered that the giant aft-faced Sentinel was still here and figure he got in another shouting match with Optimus but as she flew closer she could hear intense fighting. Now that was something she was not used to hearing and she didn't like it! She completely forgot about her game as she flew closer, ready to head into one of the broken windows but the sharp squeal of tires made her halt long enough to see a yellow compact tearing out off the side entranced the Autobots used to come and go.

"B-Bumblebee!" she shouted, ready to take off after him but he was going so fast she wasn't going to catch up. She winced when she heard something hit the ground hard enough to cause a bot to scream in pain. The first thought to come to mind were that the Decepticons had invaded their base and she quickly flew inside via a broken window, her Cybertronium armor covering her body. No one was going to hurt her friends-

Skyfire let out an animalistic shout of rage as he lifted Sentinel above his helm then threw him into the ground hard enough to cause a very large frame-sized hole. Still snarling he slammed his ped into his midsection, smirking when he felt something violently break before he reached down and grabbed the servo that had been holding the battle lance, the same lance he had tried to use on the expected carrier. He didn't care about the shouts from the others as he angrily ripped the arm off.

"I will never let you near either of them!" he hissed, heavy static lacing his vocalizer as he threw the arm to the side and prepared to drive his clawed servo into the dark blue chassis.

"Skyfire, stop!" Optimus shouted, lifting his arm he fired his grappling hook but instead of aiming for the enraged seeker the clawed end wound itself around Sentinel's ped and he managed to pull him out of danger just as the servo came crashing into the ground.

Safeguard, who was still trying to gain control over his own thought processes, used the slight distraction and threw himself at the white shuttle. There was a painful clash of metal as the two transformers grappled with one another, trying to pin the other down but Skyfire lashed out and raked his clawed servo over their duel colored chassis, making the combiner attacked with a powerful blast of heated air. The shuttle was forced back, ignoring the painful burns to his chassis and his servos.

"We is not fighting with you," the large gestalt spoke, a slight hitch in their own vocalizer.

"Then why protect a worthless glitch such as him?" he seethed, cycling air hard even as he tried to fight for control of his processor, his optics shuddering from red to blue and back again. "Don't, make me hurt you," he hissed.

Sari was confused and yes, she was scared, but hearing a pained groan her eyes widen and her battle mask slid back to show her worried expression as she immediately flew to Ratchet's side. "Bulkhead! What happened!? Who did this to you!?" she demanded, telling herself she was not going to cry.

"S-Sa-ri-i-i?" Oh he was in pain, he could feel his spark fluttering in his chassis and his vision was filled with a lot of static but he could see the worried face of his young friend. He made to sit up but cried out in pain and allowed Ratchet to push him back until he was lying down once more.

"Don't move, I gotta see how bad the damage is," the CMO said as he quickly opened the wrecker's chassis. He heaved a great sigh of relief when he saw that the slagging lance had missed his spark chamber completely but it tore a very large hole in his tank and he was leaking too much oil and energon. "Sari, I'm gonna need your help," he said even as he immediately began pulling items from his subspace.

"Anything!" once more she was desperately wishing she still had the AllSpark key but she still had her hands, so she could still do something to help.

Optimus kept a watchful optic on the large seeker but he seemed to be trying to control his processor. Instead he turned to a badly beaten Sentinel and didn't feel the least bit of remorse for him. "Are you out of your processor?! You tried to offline a member of my own team!" he snapped angrily. He was done being the compassionate Prime and he was going to let this glitch have it one way or another.

"Y-You heard him! That minibot is-is a traitor and what's wor-wor-worse is he allowed himself to be sparked—by a Decepti-ticon!" he shouted back, wincing as he held the spot where his arm had been ripped off. His battle lance was too far away to reach and warning flashed across his HUD but he ignored it as he forced himself onto his peds. "W-When Ultra Mag-nus hears-s-s about this-s I'll see-see 'ou all ru-rust-sting away in pr-prison and that-at-at glitch delet-delet-'d!"

"Not if I delete you first!" Skyfire snarled and made to charge at him but he stumbled and fell to his knee joints, servos catching him before he completely hit the ground. Warning filled his vision, energy levels too low to be considered safe, static making it nearly impossible to see but it was the opportunity he needed as he managed to reign in his protective instincts. There was a flash of light and the jettwins didn't waste any time in going to his aid, helping him sit up.

"No fighting now, is being hurt," Jetfire gently reprimanded, wincing as he saw that their combined powers had warped the metal and glass on the shuttle's chassis. Surely he had to be in a great deal of pain.

"We is not having yellow friend hurt. Not Sentinel sir, not anybot" Jetstorm promised, ignoring their commander's rants.

The red and blue Prime tried not to let his emotions overrule his logic, he had hurt those close to his spark too many times but hearing the other Prime swearing to harm the minibot and his developing sparkling left him literally seeing red. "Lay a single digit on my teammate and I'll rip out your struts through your port," Optimus seethed in a calm, icy fury. "This is Earth, not Cybertron, and **I** am the acting Prime here, not you. **I** make the rules, **I** give the orders, and **I** decide whether a member of **my** team deserves punishment or not." He paused, still giving the giant-chinned glitch a heated stare and as he took the few ped steps closer to him he had the satisfaction of watching him walk away from him. "The future of my team is **mine** ; meaning **I** will alert Ultra Magnus to the situation when **I** am ready, not you. And you had better get it through your processor that you will stay away from Bumblebee and his sparkling, or else."

"Or… or else what?"

"Or else… you had better pray to Primus that Skyfire offlines you before I get my servos on you, or you will wish you had never been sparked." For a moment, unknown to the fuming Optimus his optics shifted from an icy blue to a deep crimson, sending a spike of fear down the backstruts of the injured Sentinel.

On the floor Bulkhead winced as he felt his tank being repaired without having his sensory network dampened but he didn't care as he looked around, not seeing any sight of his little buddy. "W-Where's Bum-Bumblebee-e?" He remembered telling him to run but it wasn't safe out there for him, either.

"I saw him racing outta here like the Decepticons were on his bumper," Sari told him as she flew up and gently rested her hand on his forehelm, telling him to relax and finally looked up at the medbot. "What happened? Why was he running scared? Where's Prowl and Psyche? And what happened to Bulkhead?"

"Those two went off after the kid to try and get him to calm down before he suffers a spark attack. Bulkhead was hurt when he protected the kid from getting skewered by that aft's lance," he explained simply and grimly, glancing at the lance when it had fallen previously. "Kid's running scared, he doesn't know who to trust anymore."

"Bee…" What the hell was going on?! Part of her wanted to grab the damn weapon and shove it up that giant glitch's aft so far it would come out of his mouth! "But why was he trying to hurt Bee? He's an Autobot, just like everyone else!"

"It's 'cuz he's sparked, Sari." The medic looked up at the confused look she was giving him and sighed deeply. "It means he's carrying a sparkling, and he's running scared 'cuz he told us who the sire is." He didn't have time to explain the rest he continued to repair the hole in his teammate's tank, silently praying to Primus to not let him lose another patient.

* * *

Bumblebee sped through the streets of Detroit as fast as he could; he didn't have a set course in mind or a destination for that matter but he didn't care. He was determined to put as much distance between himself and Sentinel as far as he could. He winced as a warning popped up in his HUD, warning him of an overheated frame, a frantically racing spark, and low fuel levels. Turning sharply with a sharp squeal of tires he skidded along until finally coming to a stop in some remote alley. He wasn't sure where he was exactly but he didn't care as he wordlessly transformed and immediately dropped to his knees. A shaking servo reached up and upon the silent command his chassis split open.

His spark was pulsing erratically, running on his fear and anxiety. The smaller spark was quivering as it continued to orbit his own, alternating in speeds from frantic to sluggish. He didn't know much about medical mechanics but he did know that if he didn't calm down and get his spark to resume a normal pulse, he could lose his sparkling.

 _'_ _G-Gotta relax… oh Primus…'_ He vaguely remembered Prowl trying to teach him some breathing exercises to combat his hyperactivity. He wished he had paid more attention but closing his optics he began to cycle air through his system slowly yet deeply. It seemed to take eons but slowly he could feel his cooling fans kicking off, his processor was no longer filled with such intense anxiety, and his spark was finally resuming its normal pulse. Removing his servo he allowed his chassis to slide close but he wrapped his arms around himself as much as he could, curling into a small ball in the filthy alleyway.

 _'_ _Sentinel—he wants to delete you. I-I can't do that to you, I can't!'_ he sobbed to himself, feeling the sobs beginning to rack his small frame. _'I don't care if your sire is Starscream, or that he only sees me as a pleasure drone, I love you too much! I want to watch you grow up and fly!'_ He could feel panic once more trying to set in but he began to breathe deeply once more, but soft ktches continued to spill free. He knew he should go back but he couldn't do that to his team. He couldn't have them suffer because of him.

"I-I need help *ktch*," he sobbed quietly, fighting back the urge to just break down in an emotional mess.

"I can help you, carrier."

Bee's yellow helm snapped up and he pressed himself into the wall as hard as he could, as though hoping/praying it would open up and give him shelter. The bot before him was big, nearly twice as tall as Optimus but he was sleeker in frame and his armor plating was a dark blue-gray color scheme. He also had wings which he realized identified him as a seeker but it was the insignia on his chassis that had him ready to bolt. He was a Decepticon but certainly not one he had ever faced before but while his Autobot training was telling him to comm for help, his carrier instincts were alternating between running to safety or begging him for help. He opted for the third option: make himself as small as possible while sending out a distress signal to anybot nearby, whether it be a friend or foe.

"W-Who are you?" he asked, quietly his sobs as best he could even as she very slowly got to his peds.

"I am Cyclonus, and you are Bumblebee, the Autobot carrier," he said calmly. He took a few steps closer and with no warning reached out, touching the smaller mech's chassis. He could feel the two sparks humming beneath the protective plating and gave a non-descriptive 'hmm'. "Your sparkling is strong."

The scout couldn't stop the blush from spreading to his cheek ridges as he slapped the servo off his plating. "Didn't your creators tell you to ask before you touch another bot's chassis?" Bee snapped, holding his arms over his chassis protectively. "You're a Decepticon, so let me save you the trouble and tell you I'm not going anywhere and I sure as slag not gonna let you take me back to Megatron!"

"My orders were to bring you back, fully operational." He did swear his eternal loyalty to the warlord, but his true loyalty lay with another bot, one who would soon rule over all as far as the optic could see. "I do not wish to fight least you lose your sparkling, but I know where you will be safe from glitches such as that large-chinned aft Sentinel." He moved closer, forcing the minibot to tilt his helm back in order to look up at him. "He will not rest until the sparkling has been permanently deleted."

Yellow tipped servos gripped his chassis ever tighter, the metal groaning in protest. "How… how do you know about that?" the scout in a hushed whisper. He tried not to flinch as the clawed servo reached forward once more, pressing against his chassis. He couldn't help but shiver at his icy cold touch but when he tried to move away from him he felt frozen on the spot. That was something very unnerving about this 'Con but he couldn't place why. He looked around and was shocked to see two other mechs on either side, each bearing the purple insignia on their chassis as well. He tried to struggle once more and was relieved when he found himself able to move, ignoring the way the cold servo felt as it slid off his plating. His processor sent out another burst of distress but he made the mistake of staring into the optics of a bizarre reddish mech. "Who the Pitt are you?"

"Listen to the sound of my vocalizer, forget about everything around you," the mech said, keeping his optics locked with that of the minibot they began glowing. The scout's processor was easy to hack into, overriding his firewall proved to be a tricky but he watched as the Autobot slowly relaxed before going into a forced recharge. "There. He will be out for at least a mega-cycle," he said with satisfaction.

"Still don't see why we needed you here, Mindwipe, my chemicals would have done the trick easily enough," the dark toxic green and burnt gold mech pointed out. He made to reach out and pick up the minibot but hissed in surprise/pain as a servo roughly grabbed his and bent it backwards, threatening to snap it clean off.

"Lord Megatron tasked us with bringing the carrier fully operational," Cyclonus reminded him, his dark red optics boring into those of the 'Con. "The sparkling is important as well, so refrain from touching either or I shall use your own precious chemicals on yourself, Oil Slick." Releasing the chemist the seeker knelt and easily held the carrier to his chassis. Bumblebee didn't so much as stir as they took to the air. Blitzwing was waiting for them and it was best not to keep the psychotic triple-changer waiting.

* * *

"Psyche, please slow down!" Prowl shouted at the aqua blue sports car.

"No! Every astrosecond Bumblebee is out here is one closer to something happening!" the femme snapped, ignoring the organics as she sped down the streets. "I promised to protect him!"

"How can you protect him if you end up crashing!?" He knew it was harsh but it had the desired effect of her slowing down long enough to pull into a parking lot then skidding to a stop, transforming into her root mode. He did the same but watched as she bean pacing in place, servos clenching and unclenching tightly; she was tense and anxious. "We will find him, and I will never let Sentinel harm him."

"I know you won't. You're a good mech," she said quietly, feeling her gears tightly before letting out an angry roar from her engine. "I swear to Primus and Unicron I will beat the living slag out of him! What in the Pitt was the High Council thinking making him a Prime? Why don't they just give Cybertron over to Megatron while they're at it?! Useless, processor dead, inferior glitches! **_I hate them! I hate him!_** "

" **PSYCHE!** " The verbal shout might as well been a slap in the faceplates but the revving of her engine stopped, staring at his with large optics. Looking down in her servos she didn't realize she had her short handled hammer out. Prowl noticed it but didn't say anything and waited a few kliks before speaking up.

"I do not agree with the decisions of the High Council, I never wanted to be part of this war, but I will fight for what I believe is right and if that means going against a Prime and helping Bumblebee raise his sparkling in secret, then I will and never look back." He paused, watching as she slowly looked up at him. "I don't know anything about you aside from what you told us, but I know you have negative feelings for the High Council and those that represent them."

"What are you getting at?" she asked, tightening her digits over the handle of her hammer, feeling the energy crackle in response.

"Let us focus our energy on finding Bumblebee and keeping him safe. He has already agreed to live on Dinobot Island for the time being and the sooner we can get him there, the safer he and his sparkling will be."

"… you're right. We should be finding him first," she said, looking down at her hammer before placing it back into her subspace she transformed but not before giving the ninja a sincere smile. "Thank you."

He smiled and transformed back into a motorcycle, letting his holoimage appear in the seat. "You're welcom-" He felt his backstrut stiffen and his holoimage of a police officer stiffened, gazing up at the sky.

"Prowl? What's wrong?"

"I'm getting a distress signal, but… it appears to be moving."

"Bee. It's gotta be Bee! Lead the way!" without being told the motorcycle took off, followed closely by the sports car but in the air they never realized they were being followed as well.

* * *

The flight was a relatively short one, the mysterious seeker flying fast enough that the puny organics never noticed him. His mouth plates twitched as the thought of staying here on this miserable planet any longer. He only agreed to come for the sake of making sure that the magnificent descent of the Emperor of Destruction would come to be and he would do anything to make sure it happened. Slowing down he dropped from the sky and landed easily, not so much as jarring the carrier in his arms. Mindwipe and Oil Slick didn't have the speed to keep up but he could care less about them. Looking around he turned when he heard heavy ped steps and watched as the triple-changer stepped out from the shadows.

"I see joo've brought the Autobot, vas there any problems?" he asked.

"None whatsoever; he was in great distress when we apprehended him, though," he pointed out. "I believe his team has found out who the sire of his sparkling is and threatened harm."

"Zen their fault vill be our gain," Blitzwing nodded just before his faceplates shifted to that of the manic persona Random. "Ve now have a cute minibot of our very own! I'll hold him and pet him and squeeze him and call him George!" he cackled and made to grab the still recharging minibot but instead received a heavy ped in his faceplates, sending him crashing on his aft. Sitting up his faceplates shifted to a pissed off Hothead. "Vhat vas zat for?!"

"Megatron has requested the Autobot fully operational and the sparkling intact, I will not allow your demented actions to risk harm coming to them," he said coldly. He never so much as flinched as the fuming soldier surged to his peds, glaring at him from behind his bright red visor.

"Do zat again and I'll rip joo apart!" he shouted before switching to Random. "Zen all ze king's horses and all ze king's men can put joo together again!"

 _'_ _I am surrounded by glitches,'_ the seeker thought to himself but was thankfully saved from any more bursts of insanity as he heard the loud rumble of an engine getting closer. Turning he watched as a toxic green and black motorcycle raced up to them before transforming at the last klik to a halt, soon to be followed by a strange plane that resembled a massive bat began descending from the sky, transforming as well so it could land soundlessly. "What kept you two?" he demanded.

"You're the one that took off on us with no warning," the chemist was quick to point out, ignoring the way the grass died under his peds or the way the ground burned and warped. "And this one decided to have a glitch in his processor that took him forever to get rid of."

"I told you before it was not a glitch! I was communicating with our fellow Decepticons who are no longer with us," the maroon-colored seeker snapped. "Either way I clearly don't expect to understand the true extent of my powers."

Random took over with a loud cackle. "Powers? Make a petrorabbit appear out of joor helm!"

"I'm a hypnotist, you processor damaged fool! Why would I want to pull a petrorabbit from my helm to begin with?" Why did no one understand him?

Before Random could say something idiotic Icy took over and turned to the only professional and sane Decepticon solider. "I have just send Lord Megatron a comm that ve have ze Autobot, he is expected our return. Ve should leave now, before his team come looking for him."

"I agree." There wasn't a way to transport the minibot safely in their seeker modes, he was just too big and bulky but as Blitzwing took the yellow mech from the Cyclonus' arms a series of laser fire tore up the ground between them, forcing them to separate. They looked up and witnessed an enraged blue-violet jet flying straight towards them, going at break-neck speeds. Seeing the jet firing at them the grayish seeker frowned at the sight, as though he was not expecting this.

"I knew it! Our fallen brothers were trying to warn me that we were being followed!" Mindwipe declared loudly, making himself a grand target before taking cover behind a parked car.

"Some warning would be very helpful," Oil Slick hissed, removing a wicked long chain from his subspace. The jet was flying too fast for him to use his own brand of chemicals on him, but that didn't mean he couldn't slow him down enough to get a better shot. He began swinging it over his helm, waiting and watching at the jet continued firing at them, smirking when he saw it head straight for him. _'Now I have you!'_

A sleek turquoise and purple jet, flying just over their helms, flew by at an incredible speed. Just before the chemist could release the chain, the jet caught it and dragged the unsuspecting mech along for the ride. She purposely flew lower so she was dragging him along the ground and street, causing his frame to get heavily damaged but just before he could think to let go she began performing acrobatic moves that an organic pilot could only dream of ever attempting.

"If you mess with one seeker, you mess with the entire trine!" Slipstream taunted, performing a barrel roll she flew to the ground, purposely aiming for the idiot Mindwipe. "Hey seeker wannabe! Heads up!"

"How dare you! I have powers you couldn't even begin to understand!" he ranted, standing from where he had been hiding, firing at the femme fatale he noticed realized what she was planning she flew up into a tight roll and released the chain at the perfect moment. Neither the reddish-seeker and toxic green mech had the chance to do anything as one slammed into the other with enough force to cause some serious damage. Chuckling she transformed and hovered in the air, smirking at the chaos she had caused but a warning from her brother forced her to take to the air once more, avoiding the rapid fire from one very irate Blitzwing.

"Joo seekers vill pay for zis!" Hothead ranted as he continued firing at the two jets, completely oblivious to the destruction he was causing as well as the noise. He never realized that his yelling and the powerful sounds from his guns were rousing the Autobot from his recharge.

 _'_ _Primus… why's it so loud? Did I leave the TV on again?'_ he asked himself, his processor throbbing ever so slightly. His stabilizers felt too heavy to move but as his audio receiver reset, clearing away the static he heard yelling followed by weapons' fires. 'Weapons?'

"Hold still so I can blast joo!"

"Aim better!"

Wait, wait an astrosec, he knew those voices! Opening his optics he forced them to online, trying to reset them as quickly as possible and when he saw a purple Decepticon symbol on the chassis of the bot holding him, he wished he hadn't and in his panicked stated did the only thing he could think of. He allowed his servos to transform and bringing his stingers together, struck the crazed hothead with a full charge.

The triple-changer let out a static-filled shout, his trio of faceplates rapidly spinning as his system tried (and failed) at dealing with the sudden electrical charge. He promptly dropped the Autobot and began staggering around, his vocalizer going through a great deal of heavy static itself. Bumblebee ignored the pain in his aft and scrambled to his peds, ready to run in any direction that would take him far from here when he ran into a sleek frame. "No!" he panicked and made to shock the other bot when servos quickly grabbed his.

"Carrier, you're safe!" Skywarp said, holding the charged stingers back he waited and watched as terrified blue optics looked at him. Slowly, he released his servos but jumped when the Autobot lunged at him and embraced him tightly, hiding his faceplates in his chassis. He didn't know what to say but wrapped his own servos around him in a tight embrace. "I will never let any bot harm you," he vowed quietly.

"Isn't that sweet. Blech!" Slipstream frowned but hovered in the air, ready to take off. "Let's go before more com-" She screamed in pain as a sharp plate cut through one of her thrusters, and another slice cleanly through a wing. Unable to stay in the air she tried to land but a dark figure struck her from above and sent her crashing into the ground. She was knocked offline.

"Slipstream!" Skywarp could only stare at his sister, torn between helping her and getting the carrier to safety he was too slow to react when the figure seemed to materialize behind him and chocked back a scream of his own as two dark blades pierced his wings. His grip around Bumblebee shook, trying to shut down his sensory network but the pain was too much. The blades were quickly removed then he was quickly grabbed by the edge of his back plates and forcefully thrown back where he skidded to a halt by his fallen sister.

"S-Skywarp!" The yellow mech was terrified and ran towards them, dropping to his knees but he didn't know how to help them. Once more he set out a distress signal, hoping that someone from his team would hear it. "Oh Primus… I-I don't know what to do!"

"C-C-Car-rrier-r… ru-run a-wa-wa-way…" the blue-violet mech stuttered, ignoring the pain in his wings as he forced himself to try and sit up. "Pro-tect… the spa-spark-ling…"

"No, I-I'm not leaving you two behind!" It didn't matter if they were Decepticons, or they were clones of Starscream, they risked their own plates to save him and he was not going to leave them behind! "I can fight!"

"Too ri-risk-y-y… ru-run, now-now!"

"No!"

"Only few would stay behind to save their fallen comrades, even though they are greatly out powered, and outnumbered," Cyclonus pointed out as he stood before the minibot, holding his twin dark energy blades in his servos, a slight coat of energon and oil coating the metal. Blitzwing was also standing, his chassis badly singed and looking positively livid. Oil Slick and Mindwipe, covering in numerous dents, scratches, frame either cracked or completely broken looked ready to tear the three of them apart one circuit at a time. "Come with us."

"No! If I do, you won't hesitate to destroy Skywarp and Slipstream," he accused, refusing to show them any hint of fear.

"You should not concern yourself with such pitiful weaklings. They let their programming dictate their processors and were easily taken down. They have no right to be called warriors of the stars."

"Shut up! Two of my friends are seekers and these two were trying to protect me and my sparkling!" Standing but making sure he was standing before them protectively he held his stingers out, letting the charge build up. "I'm not going anywhere, and I won't let you harm my friends."

"… so be it." The grayish mech silently raised his sword up and was prepared to use it; Skywarp tried to get his system to cooperate, even if it was just enough to grab the carrier and pulled him back but nothing was working. His pain sensors were overwhelming his processor so he couldn't teleport. Bumblebee felt a tiny sliver of fear but refused to back down, letting the charge build he was vaguely aware of a roaring engine coming closer and closer to their location.

Icy frowned, picking up an engine but he didn't notice anything. "Vhat is zat-" His words were abruptly cut off as an aqua blue mustang roared onto site, tires skidding it sideswiped the triple changer's stabilizers right out from under him. Letting out a yelp Icy landed faceplates first onto the ground and the sports car managed to stop, a rather deep serious of dents gracing the driver's side.

"How much does that slagger weigh, a megaton?!" a feminine vocalizer said, engine still revving, ready to take off.

Wait, he knew that tone! "Psyche!" Bee called out happily.

"Hold on, sweetspark. I have everything under control," she revved softly, watching as two of the 'Cons began approaching her. She purposely backed up, drawing their attention away and would have smirked if she could. "Now!"

Another engine pierced the quiet space, the mechs looking around for the noise they failed to take notice of a motorcycle as it came up behind the sports car and took to the air. Transforming Prowl let loose his shurikens, one of them striking the chemist in the protective dome covering his helm and the other tearing a hole in Mindwipe's wing when he tried dodging out of the way. Landing the Cyber Ninja moved swiftly, charging towards Cyclonus.

Oil Slick growled angrily, removing the small weapon from his helm. Anymore and his protective helm was going to shatter. "Slagging glitches!" he hissed and lifted his servo up. The chemicals filled the clear cylinders on his arm, ready to hit him with a heavy concentrated dose of his Reverse Evolution virus. "Time for you to become a Decepticon."

"I don't think so!" Psyche had taken the opportunity to transform and lunged forward, bringing her hammer down she shattered the cylinders as well as breaking most of his arm. She also kicked at his helm, shattering the protective dome and nearly kicking in his olfactory sensor in. Such a heavy and unexpected blow caused his system to freeze up and crash, hitting the ground with a dull clang. The femme winced, feeling some of her dents rubbing at some parts of her protoform but she had to help Bumblebee. Opening her mouth plates to shout at him she cursed as her hammer was shot out of her hand, dropping to the ground in a block of ice.

"I'm going to rip joo apart!" Hothead ranted angrily, charging at the femme but once he was close enough to touch her he froze. His faceplates rapidly shifted from the easily short-tempered one to the icy calm one, both holding looks of shock and confusion. She was about to ask what was wrong when he grabbed her by the shoulder plates. "Star Siren! Joo're operational?! I had heard joo had joined ze Vell of ze AllSpark!"

"Star Siren?" Why did that designation seem so familiar? Wait a klik! "That, that was my carrier's alias," she whispered, watching as his faceplates shifted to that of the pale blue mech, a look of shock in his optics. "He's gone, has been for the last several vorns."

"Gone…" his servos shook as he released the femme and took a few shaky peds back. "But, he-he can't…!" It couldn't be true, it was impossible! The femme's words finally pierced the haze in his processor and he pointed at her. "Joo're—his creation? Vho is joor sire?!"

Psyche blinked, very confused but just as she was about to tell him she heard movement behind her and whirled to find herself staring into eerily glowing optics. Her own optics widen when she felt a foreign presence in her processor and it was trying to breach her firewalls. She raised her servos to her helm, clutching it but the presence was still trying to push through. "N-Ngh!"

"Stop fighting and give your processor to me," Mindwipe smirked, optics glowing brightly. "Let me in; tell me all your secrets."

"S-Secrets?" This mech though he was so clever, trying to hack her processor just by looking her in the optics was sneaky, but she learned from the very best. Severing the connection she reached into her subspace to pull out her other hand-held hammer. "Only thing you need to know is don't **_ever_** hack my processor!" she seethed and similar to what she did to Waspinator, swung her hammer with both servos and sent him flying, half of his faceplates caved in.

Cyclonus was impressed by the Autobot's skills, finding it difficult to score a hit on him but the slender mech was no match against him. "A valiant effort, Autobot, but I have had stellar cycles to train," he said calmly as she darted to the ide and lunged at him, sword held firmly in his servo.

"A true warrior allows his actions to speak for themselves," he muttered, preparing himself to move out of the way but he froze when the seeker vanished from thin air. Momentarily stunned he never heard him appear behind him until the sharp blade of his sword slashed at his back plates, making his jump jets useless.

"They do," he said simply. He heard the femme yelling at him, heard something heavy with an electrical charge hurled in his direction but with a swift slash of his sword sent the hammer back. Psyche couldn't utter a curse as it hit her, the charge frying her own circuits and forced her processor to reset as she fell to the ground.

"Prowl! Psyche!" Bumblebee shouted, optics impossibly wide but as he made to go towards them the mysterious seeker stepped in front of him. He even held his sword up, the sharp top pressing none too gently to the front of his throat cables. "Y-You said, Megatron wanted me, ali-live," he whispered, cursing himself as his vocalizer hiccupped.

"He does. But I have my ways of bringing you to him that will leave you operational. Though you may wish you had been offlined." He could see the yellow mech trembling and knew he had him. He could care less about his friends; they were weak to begin with. "Blitzwing, we have the carrier. Let us return before more of these pests come along."

The multi-vehicle mode mech said nothing, didn't give so much as an indication that he had heard what the other mech had said. He was looking down to where Psyche had fallen, watched as she tried to sit up but her system kept shorting out, making her twitch and jerk in uncontrollable fits. He was torn, he wanted to take her back with him, demand everything she knew about Star Siren's demise. _'But, zat's not even his real designation,'_ he thought to himself. So lost in his thoughts he never heard the sound of jets streaking through the air, never heard Cyclonus shouting at him, nothing until the steady hum of a weapon charging made him look up, startled and staring down the barrels of two arm rifles. He looked up the arm and narrowed his optics at the dark crimson orbs of the last mech he thought he would ever see. "Starscream."

"Blitzwing. I suggest you take those Decepticons and get as far away from here as quickly as possible," he said coldly, his rifle so charged sparks were dancing along the heavy plating. Behind him the rest of his seeker army had not only gathered the badly beaten 'Cons in a large pile, they had taken their injured seekers and Autobots behind him as well as making certain the carrier was well guarded.

The split-personality mech frowned but this was suicidal. If he so much looked at the yellow minibot the wrong way, he knew they would tear him apart and destroy his spark before he could escape. Even the mighty Cyclonus appeared weakened, as though he had expended nearly all his energy. Growling lowly he wordlessly nodded. "Decepticons, retreat." Stepping back he transformed into his jet mode and took off. Oil Slick uttered a few choice words but transforming himself took in with a sharp squeal of tires. Mindwipe forced himself to transform and flew as fast as his torn wing could manage. Cyclonus was less than pleased but Sunstorm's wings arched higher, a deep threatening growl made him think twice. Slowly getting to his peds he shot the carrier (who was still being held in a growling Skywarp's arms) a glare and took to the air, transforming. Even gone the seekers refused to calm down but Starscream's wings began twitching and the others began moving to the silent orders.

Slipstream groaned as she felt her processor being rebooted, seeing, hearing, even tasting nothing but static. She felt servos on her, helping her sit up and reset her optics once more only to groan when she saw who it was. "About time you slaggers got here!" she snapped.

"I told you not to go after Skywarp, I even said it was a bad idea," Ramjet muttered as he looked over his sister's damaged thruster with a frown. "Good news, you'll be flying before the solar cycle ends."

"Glitch!" Bringing her ped up she kicked the white mech in the faceplates. Soon the two were yelling at each other but the others didn't pay them any mind.

Prowl felt his optics faded in and out, his processor trying to deal with the heavy damage he sustained. He could feel digits probing at his damaged jets and flinched, but he felt small servos on his chassis and focused his optics (after resetting them several times) onto a very concerned yellow minibot. "B-Bumb-blebee-e-e?"

"It's okay Prowl, no one is gonna hurt you," he said softly, giving him a weak smile. He looked over at the seeker probing at the injuries, hoping Ratchet and the others would come soon. "How is it, Sunstorm?"

"It could have been worse?" he said nervously. He was far from a medic but seeing the carrier lower his optics in shame he just about shoved the ninja aside and reached out, grabbing yellow-tipped servos in his own. "Oh don't worry, adorable carrier! I may not be a medic but I will do the best I can!"

"Um, o-okay?" Bee was about to ask for his servos back when he heard a growl and felt servos wrap around his waist from behind, pulling him back into a vibrating chassis. Tilting his helm he watched as Starscream of all mechs held him close then pulled him back, forcing the golden seeker to let his servos go though he did try holding on. "S-Starscream?"

"Hurry up and make sure the Autobots are functioning before Blitzglitch comes back! I am not getting my skid plate shot at," he snapped as he continued holding the scout close.

"Surely they would talk to me since I am the original," Thundercracker sneered as he watched the femme shake her helm, resetting her optics. As she began to stand he reluctantly moved in to help her up only to yelp in pain when she grabbed his wings for balance, clutching at some rather sensitive sensors and wires. "Let go, slag it! Do you know who I am?!"

"A whiny fragger who needs to shut his mouth plates before I make you bite your glossia in half?" she snapped, still holding onto him she managed to stand but her equilibrium sensors were shot to the Pitt and back. She didn't seem the least bit worried about the number of seekers but seeing Starscream currently holding a nervous minibot like he was a toy made her see red. "You!" she seethed, taking a step forward and nearly fell but her grip on the wing tightened even more, making the blue-violet seeker yelp again in discomfort. "You, let him go right now!"

The dark red-violet seeker growled lowly, wings nearly vibrating and twitching as the femme finally let go of the other seeker, taking slow and unsteady steps towards him but he didn't take off or attempt to back up. His growling did grow when she reached for the Autobot but allowed her to pull him against her own chassis, his engine revving angrily. "I was not going to harm him or the sparkling," he hissed lowly.

"Doesn't excuse the Pitt-forsaken damage you did to him previously," she said just as coldly, daring him to try anything. Giving him one more glare she gently pushed Bumblebee at arm's length, looking him over. "You okay? Anything hurt? Did you get hit or anything?" she asked even as she began checking him off.

"No, no I'm fine. That bat thing, I-I think he made me recharge?" He was finding it hard to remember but his processor was no longer throbbing.

"Yeah, he hacked your processor. Pretty weak-minded himself," she muttered as she peered into his optics but he seemed fine. She was tempted to ask him to open his chassis to check on the sparkling but resting her servo on it she vented in relief, feeling the steady and strong pulses of energy. She smiled, then swatted him on the back of his helm, making him yelp. "I can't believe you took off like that! Did you really think I would let that giant aft-faced glitch near you? I nearly had a spark attack when Prowl told me you ran out! Don't you ever, ever run out on me like that! Next time stay with Skyfire! He would lay down his own spark to protect the both of you!"

"I-I-I-" He couldn't stop stuttering, feelings of shame, disappointment, and sorrow filling his system. His helm dropped, optics growing dim in sadness he didn't try to stop the sobs that began racking his frame. "I'm *ktch* sorry *ktch*. E-Everyb-b-bot got hu-hurt 'cuz-z *ktch* 'cuz of me-e-e."

Psyche felt like kicking herself when the smaller mech began crying and felt incredible low. Venting deeply she gently tugged at his shoulders, once more drawing him to her chassis and hugged him close. His own servos wrapped around her waist tightly but the ktching sounds were still coming. "No, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, sweetspark. I was just really worried," she murmured softly, stroking his backstrut and the back of his helm. "I'm sorry, Bee." He didn't say anything but he did cling to her even tighter.

Prowl watched everything that was going on and noted that all the seekers were watching them with deep focus, as though they didn't trust the femme to be near his friend but didn't want to upset him by pulling them apart. He felt as his wounds were temporarily welded shut, long enough to get back to the old factory he looked around the assorted seekers before stopping at the violet-colored mech that he had noticed Bumblebee had been attempting to protect. He noticed he was being stared at and looked at him, optics narrowed but the ninja nodded his thanks to him. The seeker did nothing but giving a slight nod acknowledged his thanks.

 ** _"_** ** _Prowl! Come in! This is Ratchet, over!"_**

Wincing he lifted his servo up and touching the button on his receiver. "P-Prowl here. Psyche and I found Bumblebee, but we're been damaged."

 ** _"_** ** _Frag! What about that kid?!"_**

"Bumblebee's alright, he wasn't harmed." He looked up at Starscream but the former SIC was looking at the minibot with an unusual look in his optics—regret? Shame? Unease? But why?

 ** _"_** ** _Prowl!"_**

Flinching he looked away. "Y-Yes, I'm here."

 ** _"_** ** _Optimus and Skyfire are heading to your location, don't fragging move! Are there any Decepticons in the area?"_** The ninja tensed and looked around at the seekers but they were tending to their own injured, casting the occasional look at Bumblebee who had calmed his sobs and Psyche was humming a song too low for him to hear.

"… no. There are no Decepticons in the area."

* * *

"Are you kidding me?!"

"They are here for Bumblebee's sake, they even came to his rescue."

"It's a trap and your processor must be damaged if you actually believe them!"

"They're not Decepticons!"

"This is the last straw; I'm calling Ultra Magnus right now and having that thing-"

"Unless you would like your helm permanently shoved up your waste pipe, I would strongly recommend you watch what you say around me," Skyfire warned coolly.

"!" Sentinel froze but even as he glanced over at the communication center he knew he would be stopped. As it was he did not feel very comfortable with the amount of Decepticon seekers in the living room and they did not like him. "I-I'm going back to my ship-"

"No, you aren't," Starscream said firmly, servos crossed over his chassis he looked towards the hall where he was told the medbay and the Autobots' quarters were located. The ancient medic was currently repairing Skywarp's wings; the other members of his "army" had their own injuries taken care of although Slipstream was "grounded" until her thruster could be replaced. She had not been happy about that and shouted the worse obscenities anybot had ever heard. But he was more concerned about the carrier (Bumblebee, he had to call him by his designation) who had retired to his quarters, needing to recharge.

"I'm not going to be ordered around by some Decepticon! If I want to go to my ship than slag it I'm going!" the navy blue mech snapped.

"… let me say this as slowly and as simply as possible for your glitch processor to understand. You, threatened a carrier, an Autobot, threatened to delete his sparkling against his wishes, you even dared to strike him down when his own team and your underlings tried to stop you." Pausing he slowly turned to look at him, a murderous look in his optics. "And you're wondering why we won't allow you near your precious ship?"

Oh he was in some seriously deep slag but as the nervous Prime looked around he was dismayed to see that Optimus and his team were doing nothing to help him. He found himself taking a shaky step back but yelped when the seekers surrounded him and the large white shuttle purposely moved to the only door leading in and out. He watched as the SIC calmly walked up to him, wings arched high and twitching madly. "Y-You harm me and it'll be on your helms!" he squeaked.

"Why would anybot miss such an inferior mech such as yourself when I exist?" Thundercracker boasted as a cruel smirk caused his lip plates to curl upward. "We should terminate him and no bot would be the wiser."

"What?!" They weren't serious! Optimus wouldn't let them do that to him! Right?

"I don't think we should destroy his precious ship, without him on it," Ramjet smirked as the others smirked in response to what he really meant.

"If we had access to a space bridge we could send him to the Autobot council one piece at a time," Slipstream smirked, flexing her clawed digits.

"Oh what a brilliant idea! Why don't we take him apart now so we won't have to worry about it later?" Sunstorm cheered, an insane glint in his optics.

As much as the other Prime wanted him to pay for even thinking about hurting his scout he couldn't allow these seekers to harm him. At least not until they could figure out how to keep from blabbing to Ultra Magnus and the council about Bee being sparked and the former Decepticons acting as his honor guard.

"Starscream, as much as I dislike Sentinel right now, I'm afraid I can't let you disassemble him," he spoke up and took slow but steady steps to him. He heard the seekers hiss, wings arched high but he continued to move slowly until he was behind the red-violet SIC. "We are not Decepticons, we do not tears our enemies apart."

"We are not weak-willed Autobots and we do not simply roll over and expose our protoforms to have our sparks ripped out," he hissed angrily at him.

"Please listen-"

"Do not speak to me as though you know our kind!" the seeker hissed as he turned on him angrily. "You glitches know nothing about us, you all just assume we are mindless drones that care for nothing! Your council even stole my CNA to try and create your own seekers! I thought you Autobots were above such underservoed acts, constantly preaching about uniting all fractions under one rule! Your precious council cares not for anybot else except their own worthless skidplates!"

"But-!" Optimus tried saying but the SIC was right. Everybot just assumed seekers were war-crazed aerial fighters but Starscream and his clones risked their own plating to save and protect Bumblebee. Was the council wrong about—everything? "Be it as it may, I will not allow you to destroy Sentinel even if he does deserve it!"

"What?! I didn't do anything!" he yelled but the seekers obeyed the silent command from the rapidly twitching wings and grabbed at him. Sentinel may have been bigger and stronger, but the seekers were faster and more nimble. Slipstream smirked as she produced a pair of all-too familiar cuffs from her subspace and when her brothers kept the giant glitch busy, she moved swiftly and soon had the cuffs on him.

"N-no! Not again!" But the effects of the cuffs paralyzed his entire system. He was powerless now, they were going to tear him apart! He felt his pride drop and was ready to beg for forgiveness but a servo roughly slapped a metal plate over his lip components and painfully bolted them in place.

"I could kiss the genius who created these ingenious ways to keep such a foul bot still and silent!" Sunstorm grinned. His siblings smirked as they moved in closer, ready to tear the plating from his frame and tear him apart but they were forced back when the massive shuttle mech stepped forward and wordlessly lifted the bound Prime up and away from them. "Give him back!"

"He doesn't have to pay for his crimes against the carrier! You're not a seeker, are you!?" Ramjet yelled at him angrily.

"Bumblebee would not want another mech's energon to be spilled because of him. I do not know him as well as his team, but I know deep down he would never accept Sentinel to be harmed for his words," he said calmly. "Right now Bee is in a fragile state, any undue and unneeded stress will bring great harm to him, and may result in him losing the sparkling." At those words the seekers froze and looked back at Starscream uncertainty.

As much as the red-violet seeker didn't want to admit it, he was right; if their actions caused the Autobot carrier to lose the sparkling… then, it would be his fault. Closing his optics tightly his servos tightened into fists, the sharp claws digging through plating and piercing protoflesh. "… … … very well. But I refuse to have such a worthless glitch anywhere near my sparkling and its carrier!"

Skyfire nodded and looked up at Optimus. "Do you have a prison cell we can keep him contained in?"

"No… but Sentinel's ship should." The blue mech let out a muffled shout behind the plate but the only thing he could move right now were his optics thanks to the stasis cuffs. "I think some solitary time in the brig should be more than enough time, though I don't imagine he's going to learn his lesson or apologize anytime soon."

"He had better or we'll be sending him back to his precious council—in pieces." The seekers smirked, snickering but they looked up when they heard the sounds of jets. Soon the yellow-orange and blue forms of both Jetfire and Jetstorm appeared, the latter holding a boxed item in his servos.

"We is back being!" Jetfire said happily but blinked when he looked around the living room and saw their commanding officer currently bound and gagged. "What be happening?"

"And why Sentinel sir looking that like?" Jetstorm asked.

"Sentinel refused to act like a decent bot so he's been put on a time-out." Skyfire said even as he easily lifted the large mech away from the still snickering seekers. Noting the box in their servos he nodded. "Were you able to find it?"

"Oh yes!" The blue seeker opened the box to reveal a jet thruster, one similar to the seekers all used. "Working yes?"

Setting the prime down he took the item in his servos and began running a scan, comparing it with the diagnostics he took of the femme seeker's thrusters. Aside from a few minor differences he could install it and she would soon be airborne once more. "Yes, I think this will work perfectly. Thank you," he smiled at the jets.

"I-It no problem, we is happy helping new friend!" Jetstorm said, a heavy blush on his cheek ridges. Next to him Jetfire snickered only to be shoved by his twin who responded by shoving him back. The two kept up the mock fighting, one teasing the other. Skyfire just smiled and walked over to the seekers.

"What's that?" Ramjet asked with a confused look on his faceplates. "Not that I care!"

"This, is a jet thruster. I asked the twins if they happened to have a spare thruster on their ship, they were unsure but after searching their ship found one." Turning to Slipstream he nodded and held it out for her to see it. "I've compared the schematics of your thruster and the one the twins provided, and I believe it will work and enable you to fly once more."

"It will?" That was stellar news! She hated walking around like some grounder and longed to be flying high in the clouds! But she stopped herself from snatching the thruster from the other mech, giving him a suspicious look. "Why are you doing this? What do you want in return? I'm not joining the Autobots so forget it!"

"I expect nor want anything in return, Slipstream. Not all seekers are Decepticons nor are they Autobots," he said softly but wordlessly pressed it into her servos. "I know what it's like to be denied that which you were created for, but it doesn't mean we can just sit by and let others dictate our true programming."

The femme blinked but his words kept repeating themselves in his processor. Looking down at the thruster she could tell she was going to need another coat of paint to match hers, but she wouldn't have to wait any longer before being in the clouds once more. "Thanks. But I'm not letting that old medic to install it! He'd probably switch the wires on me and it'll explode the first time I use it!"

"I can install it for you, if you would please follow me?" the large shuttle bowed to her and headed to the medbay to get the necessary tools. Just as he was about to knock the door opened and Ratchet gave a short yell before scowling.

"Stop standing in front of my door! You trying to give me a spark attack?!" he snapped angrily, pushing past the two and heading into the living room, a data pad in hand.

"R-Ratchet, may I borrow your medbay to finish repairs on Slipstream?" Skyfire called out to him even as the femme moved inside.

"Fine! Just don't make a mess!" he yelled back without looking. Noticing Optimus he went over and began pulling up the reports he had completed. "Bulkhead's gonna be fine, Sari and I were able to seal his tank and managed to weld the protective panels together. It'll be a solar cycle or two before his self-repair system can finish the minor stuff. Prowl's currently recharging, but luckily he had replacement jump jets, I give him a solar cycle for his self-repair to finish what I started, but I need to run several scans as soon as he's awake. I want to make sure everything is operational before he even thinks of transforming."

"Yes, of course. What about Bumblebee?"

"He's fine. Just need a good recharge, some energon, and no more unwanted stress." At this he sent a glare at Sentinel where he had been left though now he seemed to be teetering on his peds as the twins continued mock fighting while insulting the other. "His sparkling is fine but his chassis refused to open so I'll try examining it later."

"Thanks, Ratchet." Sighing heavily the Prime rubbed his servos over his faceplates, suddenly feeling the weight of everything that had happened doubled in its mass but he looked over as Starscream stepped up to the medic, calm and collective.

"And my trine mates? How are they fairing now?"

The CMO blinked but switching the data pad with another he pulled up the reports. "That femme of yours was lucky, but she'll manage. So will that purple seeker, but I'd wait until tomorrow afternoon before he starts flying again, just to make sure the nanites in his wings repaired everything. He's recharging, having expended a lot of energy earlier."

"I see…" Saying nothing else he stepped back along with the others where they didn't seem to be talking but wings continuously twitched and shifted, riding high on their back plates before drooping incredibly low, frames tensing then relaxing minutely. They were talking but in a seeker dialect no other bot knew or could begin to understand. They tensed as they heard a door open followed by ped steps, only to watched as Skywarp quietly entered the main area.

"Wha-You're suppose to be recharging!" the red and white medic snapped and made to "encourage" the seeker back so he could get some proper rest.

"Can't, Slipstream kicked me out," he muttered, flinching from the medic and made his way to his brothers and creator, wings twitching much slower than the others. Ratchet muttered under his vents and made to head back to his quarters when there was a loud crash and all helms whirled where it was coming from. Sentinel was now on the ground, having fallen forward and landed faceplates first into the concrete flooring. There was a low pain groan coming from him and the jettwins were looking at the mechs with embarrassment on their own faceplates.

"W-We is sorry, we is not meaning knock over sentinel sir," Jetfire said quietly.

"Brother is right, we is helping up Sentinel sir!" To prove it, Jetstorm and his twin tried lifting the mech but he was so heavy to begin with and they were now build for heavy lifting, they managed to get him a human foot off before their servos lost their grip and he crashed into the concrete once more, this time with a louder yet still muffled yelp of pain. "Sorries!"

"Many sorries!" The two tried once more to lift him but again he slipped from their grips and hit the ground, this time hard enough to cause his processor to crash and force him into recharging. The colored seekers took one look and burst into pearls of laughter. Ratchet groaned as he slapped a servo over his faceplates before muttering he was too old to deal with this and that the slagger would stay there until he was ready to deal with him. Optimus was trying to hold back his own laughter but chuckles managed to escape.

* * *

Starscream felt his optics online and for a moment, was confused as to why his surrounding didn't look familiar. This was clearly not the remains of Nemesis, he wasn't even on the moon. His processor played back clips and he felt his frame tense. He remembered flying out in search of the carrier (Bumblebee), following the signal Slipstream had, he and his creations had found them surrounded by several 'Cons he had meet only once, but seeing the strange seeker pointing a sword at the Autobot made him literally see red. His protective instincts overtook his processor as well as the others and they flew forward, taking out the mechs before aiming his guns at Blitzwing. Now that he had time to process everything that had happened he wondered why the triple-changer looked confused but he was smart enough to leave. He remembered giving the command to have his trine check on their injured flight mates as well as the beaten Autobots.

 _'_ _We're in their base of operations,'_ he mused and looked around. It was dark with no activity, meaning the Autobots must be recharging. Looking around in the large room he had been called as the "living room" were his trine mates. They were sprawled out on the limited furniture in some rather uncomfortable positions, wings twitching slightly. But they were all here and they were safe. So what woke him up?

Soft ped steps were heard as a figure slowly walked out of the hall and into the main room. The seeker dimmed his optics but turned on his night vision, seeing everything through a crimson hue. When he saw who it was he felt his vents stall. It was the carrier scout and he appeared to be looking for something.

A yellow servo rubbed at his helm, optics peering around the room, his own night vision coloring everything in shades of blue. "There you are," he muttered softly and made his way to the communication center and bend over, opening one of several storage containers there. Reaching inside he pulled out a cube of energon, paused, then placed it in his subspace and retrieved another one before closing it. The faintly glowing cube shined like a beacon in their night vision but he continued to move slowly as he headed back to the hall to his room, closing the door behind him.

Starscream continued to sit against the wall, waiting several breems before slowly getting to his peds. He should go back to recharge or help himself to an energon cube in the storage container but instead he found himself walking down the hall, pausing now and then to make certain no one else was awake. He had no idea where the scout's quarters were but a gentle tug on his spark had him going to door. Pausing he adjusted his receivers and could hear noise from the other side that sounded a lot like the noise the organics called music. He frowned, he should be recharging and before he could stop himself, his servo gently knocked on the door. The music abruptly stopped and he heard a quiet vocalizer on the other side.

"Yeah?"

"It's Starscream." He didn't know why he didn't lied and he was prepared to walk back to the living room and recharge but the door opened. The yellow mech looked up at him for several kliks before stepping aside. He took that as an offer to enter and did so, hearing the door silently close behind him.

The room was a fairly good size, the head of the berth pushed against the wall facing the opposite wall where a large entertainment screen hung. He also noted colorful images all over, with large lettering on them but he didn't understand any of it. There were also several data pads sitting atop a box that he assumed was being used as a table with the two energon cubes on another box. He also noted he had two storage containers himself, one closed but the other open to reveal cleaning clothes, polish and a buffer, no doubt items needed to keep his plating looking shiny and new. He turned and watched as the smaller mech walked past him, opening the closed container and pulled out a small glass container before closing it then moved to his berth and sat on the edge. Upon a closer look the seeker realized the container was filled with small, round balls that he had never seen before. He glanced at the minibot before looking back to the container in his servo.

"Humans call them bon bons, some kind of treat, 'cept Psyche helped me make these specifically for me," he explained and pulled one out to show him. "Just some metal shavings like iron and aluminum with copper wires, all covered in this really sweet stuff called chocolate. It's good and Ratchet said I need the alloys to help my system create the protoform." Looking at it he held the jar up to offer the seeker some but Starscream politely declined. Nodding he popped it into his mouth and began chewing. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"You didn't, I was awake for a short period." They fell into an uncomfortable silence and the seeker once more looked around the room but before he tried to decide either to stay or leave the scout spoke up once more.

"Thank you, for coming to my rescue, and for helping Prowl and Psyche. I, I couldn't just leave them behind."

"… you risked your own plating to protect Skywarp and Slipstream, you could have easily left them behind and I would have never known."

"I don't abandon my friends, and they were risking their own plating to save me." He paused, popping another bon bon into his mouth, feeling his hungry subside but he sighed and looked up at him once more. "Why did you come? I thought you hated me."

That hurt more than he original thought but as he vented deeply he felt his wings sagged on his back plates, a clear indication of distress and sorrow to those who could read their expressions. "I was worried about the sparkling. The last time we meet, I shot you in the chassis and forced it open," he spoke up lowly. "I was afraid I had deleted the little one."

"So you came for her but not me… guess I shoulda expected that…" he said sadly, just holding the jar in both servos now.

"'Her'?"

"Hmm? Oh, that sparkling. I've been having dreams about seeing a seeker flying high above me… beautiful, strong, sleek, coloring a mix of ours…" Smiling lovingly he reached up to gently stroke his chassis, closing his optics. "I couldn't see much of her but I knew it was a femme, that my sparkling would grow up to be her." He looked so happy but the serene smile left his lips and his optics opened to mere slits, dim and sad looking. "I used to hate being a carrier, I would get made fun off, some of the glitches would make crudes jokes about getting me reformatted into a femme so it wouldn't be strange. But now… I don't give a damn what anybot thinks or says." Slowly looking up at him his gaze seemed to harden, the soft blue color turning paler, resembling ice. "No one is going to take her away from me, not the High Council, not Sentinel, not you."

The seeker said nothing but his wings shifted as the minibot continued to stare at him. He took a step forward and watched the way he tensed, his servo moving protectively over his chassis. He hated the painful ache in his spark but slowly moved closer and knelt down. He wanted to reach out and touch him, to hold him and comfort him, but now was not the time. "May I please see your sparkling?" He wanted to say "mine" or even "ours" but he just know the scout would outright deny him and no doubt raise an alarm. Bumblebee said nothing, leaning back, a clear indication that he did not trust him. "Please, I will not harm her or you. I—just want to see."

"…" He didn't trust him, he tried to offline him and even told his own clones to rape him, but he winced as he felt his spark reaching out to him, to feel the energy wash over him and the tiny life force he was harboring. He slowly leaned forward, setting the glass jar aside, gave the command for the protective plating to open. "You try anything, and I'll have everybot in here in less than an astrosecond," he warned.

"I understand." He watched as he servo fell and the plates shifted, soon staring into the bright blue-white light. He moved closer (noticing how the carrier tensed) but he watched as a tiny spark pulsed in sync with the larger spark, orbiting it like he had seen planets do. "Beautiful," he murmured softly, enjoying the feel of the gentle light he lifted his servo, wanting to touch it but pulled back instead. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

Bumblebee said nothing but his chassis continued to stay open. He hated to admit it, but the former Decepticon was attractive, his dark coloring a contrast to his own bright plating; when he was racing around he liked to imagine he was almost flying, enjoying the feel of the planet's wind brushing over his frame. He didn't realize the seeker was still talking so he decided to focus on his words instead.

"I needed more AllSpark fragments, enough so I could take down Megatron and take over as the supreme leader of the Decepticon forces. I had though, you Autobots had enough for me to achieve that goal. But my plans always seem to fail in one form or another," he trailed off, looking away from the spark. There was a soft hiss of air as he allowed his chassis to open and revealed a pulsing dark reddish spark inside, but it seemed to be pulsing out of sync and swelled in size as though it was having difficulty staying stable.

"My fragment somehow granted me a spark of my own although I don't need it. You can extinguish it but I will remain online, fully operational. But, I do not know if the same could be said if the fragment is removed will my spark go with it." Looking down he frowned and pushed the plates close. "I'm sorry for everything I have done to you, I won't ask for forgiveness but understand I will do everything to make sure you and your sparkling are protected. Even if you don't want my help allow my trine to stay, they will never allow you to come to harm and will lay their own sparks down for the both of you. I vow to be loyal to you and only you, Bumblebee."

"Starscream…" Could he forgive him? He wasn't sure and his processor was running a utter and complete blank but slowly he reached down, grasping his servo, brought it up and gently, placed it on his spark casing. He suppressed the tingling of pleasure ghosting along his sensors but allowed the seeker to gently rub and stroke his digits over the transparent case. He let his servo go but soon found himself leaning into his touch. The pleasurable tingles were getting more persistent but he didn't care and gripped the edge of his berth tightly.

The seeker smiled gently as he watched the tiny spark flying around the carrier's spark, no doubt feeding off his energy and feeling his thought processes, he watched as the sparkling even flew closer to his own, wanting to feel his energy but that would require pressing their sparks together. Reluctantly he began to pull back but was frozen when yellow-tipped servos grabbed at his own and held it there. He looked up at his faceplates, ready to ask what he was doing when he froze and finally noticed the state of arousal he was in.

"S-Star… scream…" This was like the time he stroked his spark casing, his system running fun, cooling fans trying to keep him from overheating, but this time the touching was from somebot else. His processor supplied clips of what the seeker had done to him but all he focused on was the intense pleasure he had experienced and wanted to experience again and again and again. "I need you…" he whispered, keeping his servo on his spark chamber the other slid down his arm, brushing digits over his arm-mounted gun, tracing seams along the way. "Please… frag me…"

He didn't bother to pull his servo back but his wings were hitched high on his back plates, stiff with tense and he felt his cheek plates heating up, his cooling fans humming, ready to kick on as his system detected a steady rise of his core temperature. "B-Bumblebee… you don't mean it," he tried to reason but he was leaning closer now, his servo reaching up to brush up his neck cables, stroking a heated cheek ridge and traced his lip plates. His wings began trembling and his fans kicked on with a low whirl.

"Please Starscream… tie me up, pin me to the berth, frag me until I crash… I want it…" he whispered hotly, bringing his stabilizers under his frame so he was kneeling, pulling him closer; optics a dark royal blue like the heart of deepest space. "Please…"

"Bee…" He was pleading with him, begging him to frag him like he had before, to take until he was satisfied, but he couldn't. it wasn't his programming, though he would be the first to blame that, but no. He didn't want to hurt him again, and he didn't want to risk harming the sparkling. Carriers went through stages where they sought out heavy interfacing or strange cravings. The alloys was one indication, but the urge to 'face with him, his tormentor, was oh so tempting… it would be so easy to pin him down and take what he was offering, but he couldn't.

 _'_ _I hurt him so much already,'_ he thought quietly. Venting softly he pulled back, shivering as his servo slid from the side of his helm down to her chassis, withdrew his other servo from the pulsing spark, and gently, pushed the protective plating closed. He heard the soft whimper of want, the silent pleas to frag him but he didn't pull away completely. He reached up and gently took his faceplates in his own servos this time, pressed a gentle kiss to his lips but nothing more. His own optics were dim, so dark red they were nearly black. "No more fragging… tonight, I will treat you the way you should have been treated in the beginning," he whispered against his lips, brushing digits over the soft ridges. "I will take care of you, my sweet little Bee…"

"Starscream…" he felt like crying as he kissed him once more and slowly wrapped his arms around his neck cables, pressing their heated frames together. The kiss was gentle, caring, almost loving, servos stroking warm plating, brushing over transformation seams. He was moaning softly, silently begging for more but the seeker gently pushed him back onto his berth climbing atop of him. He welcomed the weight of his frame pressing into his own, trying to slip yellow digits beneath the armor to stroke the sensitive wires but his servos were gently pulled away and the warm frame lifted off his. "P-Please…" he moaned lowly, arching upward.

"Just relax and let me take care of you," the SIC whispered hotly, once more kissing his lips he began trailing them over a heated cheek plate, down his neck and licked at the tense wires and cables, feeling the rush of energon rushing beneath the main cable. His servos never stopped touching him, never stopped their warm caresses, never do anything more than traced seams and just barely grazing the black tips of his claws over the more sensitive spots he knew the minibot had. He groaned as the yellow mech let out such needy cries, continuously arching into him, grabbing at him but when he gently pinned his servos back down to the berth he kept them down. "Let me, take care of you," he whispered hotly, lowering his head as he trailed kisses down his chassis, tracing the red insignia embalmed into the metal

 ** _* Due to the explicit portion of this chapter, I am complying with FF's NC17 ban and have removed this portion. If you are interested in reading the unedited version, please refer to my AO3 account. Thank you. *_**

With the charge of energy reaching its climax the sparks gave out a bright violet light, ignoring their sensors even more, a great surge of energy coursing through their systems, prompting processors to crash, offlining one of them.

The ex-Decepticon shuddered at the sensations racing through ever sensor and wire in his frame, processor warning him of an evident crash but he tried holding it back, just for a few kliks was all he needed. The Autobot had taken the full crash, peacefully recharging, frame completely limp and relaxed. It made him smile as he gently pushed him back long enough to allow their chassises to close, although he wanted to stroke the gentle spark he could feel his system slowing down. He made to lift the minibot off his spike so he would be comfortable but that's when his processor gave its final warning and began shutting everything done one by one.

 _'_ _Slag it,'_ he thought but vented softly and wrapped his arms around him tightly, holding him close. The last thing he remembered was feeling the yellow mech nuzzle into him with a soft vent of content, servos gripping at whatever was close by, making him smile gently. "Love you, my sweet Bee…" he whispered and allowed his optics to close, slipping into a peaceful and deep recharge. As the two mechs recharged neither realized another mech had been listening outside the door, and had grown angry and jealous at eh sounds he had heard. Digits curled into a tight fist, tempted to rip the door open and violently remove the seeker from the scout, to tear him apart but he held it back and quietly retreated to his quarters. His optics burned with the crimson intensity that was said to come only from the fiery Pitt itself.

 **Author's Notes:** (lays head on keyboard, sighing deeply) This, was the hardest chapter to write. I had been sitting on it for a while, struggling what to write, how to write it, how the plot was going to work, but I did it. Now, the Decepticons I mentioned are indeed part of Megatron's forces. Thanks to TFWiki (sorry, can't set up a link the site likes to eat them) I found out Meggy had other forces beside schizoid, brown noser, and the drunk twins.

Decepticons: Hey!

Blitzy I can see being the only sane one to make sure these new 'Cons brought Bee safely (even with Random on board) but the Constructicons? Really? First barrel of oil or red sports car they see and they'll forget about the mission and go after that instead! Lugnut… I swear his temper is worse than Hothead's, I think he'd used the P.O.K.E. every second of the day if he could get away with it.

Lugnut: Never! Unless Lord Megatron commands it!

See! Anyway, Cyclonus I'm sure you TF fans remember from the original TF movie except in the TFA universe he's a wicked strong fighter and fights with two swords. Oil Slick actually appeared in a TFA: the Arrival #3 comic featuring a back story with Ratchet and a chemical weapon called "cosmic rust". I have yet to hear him speak but I imagine him speaking in a similar dialect like Lockdown, but a bit more crude about it. Mindwipe is another 'Con who claims to be a master hypnotist and can communicated with the dead (mostly Decepticons) but no one takes him seriously. Also, in the original G1 universe he transforms into a giant bat so I decided to keep him as such. Frankly, he looks like he was trying to copy Dracula's look and stopped partway (snickers) Oh yes! I was thinking of doing a side story about Psych's creators and it does include Blitzwing, but the cliff note's version is he knew Psych's creator by his spy name, so you can imagine the shock to both Icy and Hothead when they see her and think they're seeing the undercover spy instead.

Originally I did not plan on Bee wanting to 'face with Screamy, but I was reading about pregnancies and it says some mothers-to-be experience a strong desire for sex or refusing to be touched, especially sex. In this case, Bee is storing a lot of excess energy and his sparkling wants the energy from her sire as well. And yes, bots do eat! (They need to use those teeth for something) so I read on TFWiki that they eat metal alloys and those items are found in great abundance on Earth. As for the bon bons, well one of the items said they eat chocolate-covered wheel nuts so I played with the idea that Psych and Sari created these bon bons for him to eat when he felt like it.

What else… oh quick question! I was thinking of fast-forwarding Bumblebee's pregnancy with a couple of moments during said time with his friends and how they're each helping him with his pregnancy. Would you rather me skip ahead or take my time? TBH, I rather not draw out the pregnancy too much, I still have more I have to write about and I need to bring some more focus on Meggy and his plans to take over Cybertron.

Megatron: Do not call me that!

Would you prefer bucket-head? 'Cuz seriously, if I find a bucket, cut out the front, and paint it silver I can be you for Halloween!

Megatron : … no.

Good tyrannical warlord! (pats hi on the head) Next chapter, construction begins on Dinobot Island for Bee's new/temporary home. The seekers try to adjust to living with the Autobots and one techno-organic, and the unexpected changes of a newly sparked carrier (ie. Cravings, mood swings, really long naps), and Megatron tries to adjust his plans on taking over Cybertron. Also, Psyche gets some bad news from home that she never expected and it'll test her ties with her friends and her family.

See you next time! (waves and lays head on keyboard once more)


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** Hello readers and reviewers! Have you ever had a story that started out pretty good, but halfway through you just don't like it and wanna start over? Yeah, I feel like that. Why? Well, I feel like I'm writing myself in a circle. But that's what I get for trying to follow the series word for word instead of following my plotline. I also have a habit of writing about scenes and the characters' feeling instead of actual dialogue. Whoops! But no, I will not be discontinuing this story. I will in fact, do my best to finish it. I have started then stopped then removed too many stories and I do not want this one to suffer like the others. So before we get to the story, let us have a tally of the polls so far!

Prowl: 12

Starscream: 10

Optimus Prime: 2

Other: 4 (Bulkhead, Skywarp)

Not much of a difference but Prowl is still in the lead. So to make up for the fact that Prowl is a fan favorite and he has been a saint with Bee, I have written something a bit special between the two. But then my angst side took over and it gets pretty dark near the end (rubs head) Oops? Please don't kill me! (hides in the closet)

 **"** **Comm link."**

 **~Private comm link.~**

 _:Seekers speaking.:_ Similar to panthers communicating via body language, seekers can communicate to each other by using their wings. In other words, think of it like the time Optimus told Jazz the plan on rounding up the Decepticons when they got loose on Sentinel's ship except he used the Autobot version of SOS.

 **Warning: This chapter contains mention of sexual abuse. If you do not want to read this, then I advise you not to continue. I would also like to say I do not condone acts of sexual violence, and to remind you—the reader—that this is purely fictional**

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

Morning seemed to come too soon for the city of Detroit, but with it came the promise of a new day. In a large Autobot Elite Guard's ship one of the occupants was awake and had been awake for a short while. Skyfire was quietly processing data from the previous day and the consequences of his actions. He was prepared to accept any and all punishments but the well-being of the sparkling and its carrier came first. There was no denying the satisfaction he felt when that pompous Prime looked terrified of him.

A quiet murmur at his side made him look down and smile gently as Jetfire clung to the side of his broad chassis. On his other side Jetstorm heard the soft sound and reached out, gripping his twin's servo. His own large servos pulled the two as close as he could. The damage he had inflicted on them as Safeguard was nearly gone but he still remembered his claws as they had tried tearing their chassis open. His own self-repair was nearly done but a slight twinge of pain flickered across his sensors, reminding him of his still healing network. He vented air softly and leaned his helm back.

Protocol demand he protect the carrier and his unborn sparkling, to ensure they were safe and protected. Yes there were other seekers to protect them, but it was the actions of one seeker that caused this to happen to begin with. He had spoken to said seeker before coming to the ship, to warn him that any negative actions against the Autobot would be meet with very hostile results.

 _Starscream frowned as he looked the shuttle up and down. "You do realize we share the same programming, so why are you wasting your time telling me this?" he asked with a sneer._

 _"_ _You nearly killed Bumblebee and his sparkling because he said no. Do I need another reason?" he answered coldly._

 _The SIC managed to keep from flinching but his wings gave a tense twitch, showing his words had hurt. "I can't undo the past, but I won't let anything happen to them," he said quietly after several tense astroseconds. "This sparkling, is a hope for a new future. It's a future I never thought would happen or live to see the day."_

 _Skyfire was silent but he was reading his frame and could tell he was sad, upset, but also worried. But when he spoke about the sparkling, there was concern, a sense of pride, and affection. He cared about the tiny life form more than he was letting on. "And Bumblebee?"_

 _"…_ _I will protect him." His wings twitched but the neutral seeker understood what he was not saying: he would lay down his spark for him if the need arose, and never stop to think twice about it._

He didn't know what to think but he had a feeling, the former Decepticon would live up to his silent promise. So lost in his own thoughts he didn't realize the twins were awake until he felt gentle digits tracing the slight scaring on his chassis, making his wings twitch slightly. "Sorries, not meaning wake you," Jetfire said softly, digits pausing.

"It's alright," he said just as softly, smiling down at him. He felt the other bot shift and watched as Jetstorm sat up. "I trust the two of you recharged well?"

"Yes… recharge, good very," he said softly. He continued to move slowly, leaning up he hesitated before leaning down and pressing his lips components against those of the large seeker beneath him in a soft kiss. As he pulled back there was a large blush on his cheek plates. "Regretting not?" he asked softly, hesitantly, as though fearing an answer.

"Regretting?"

"Last night being, when we is telling feelings of you," the other young mech reminded him even as he leaned up and kissed him as well with less hesitation than his brother.

That's right… after "depositing" Sentinel Prime into his ship's own brig he was checking on the twins' injuries, the same injuries he had caused onto them, making certain they were alright before leaving to head back to the factory. They had turned the tables on him, asking about his own injuries and wanting to make sure he was alright. He was but he didn't stop them as they looked over his still burnt servos; they were far from medics but he knew they felt terrible about attacking him just as he did. It was in a quiet and vulnerable moment that the two admitted their growing attraction to him. When prompted for a response he froze, unsure what to say or do. For a moment, the twins had been hopeful but when he didn't answer they had become upset and embarrassed, stammering apologies until he had reached out, embracing them both and taking his time, kissed them each in turn.

Still thinking about it he smiled as he leaned down and kissed Jetfire first, feeling his engine purring at the surprised moan he let out before pulling back and kissing Jetstorm who was more than prepared and kissed him right back.

"I regret nothing," he whispered as he continued to hold the two of them close, his large digits stroking warm plating and listening as cooling fans kicked on, including his own. He was suppose to head back, to make certain that the minibot and his sparkling were safe, but as the two beautiful mechs began caressing him, digits slipping into gaps to stroke at tense wires, pressing their heated frames into his own, moaning his designation, he chose to lay back on the berth, moaning softly as he accepted their curious yet loving attention.

No one was expecting him anytime soon, he could spend some more time with his two newfound loves.

* * *

Starscream watched as the planet's sunlight came through the window, slowly brightening up the room. He had been awake since the bright star rose, arms wrapped around a warm, yellow frame, his servo resting just above the seam in the other mech's chassis. He would deny the rush of heat and energon rushing to his faceplates in the form of a blush, but he did hold the minibot closer, engines revving softly. The minibot moaned in response and pressed into him, soothed by the gentle vibrations. Wings flickered as they arched high on his backplates, making him smile ever so slightly.

"I hope our sparkling has your looks," he said quietly, letting his optics close. Surely it wouldn't be a terrible idea to recharge for a few more-

"What do you think you're doing?!" Thundercracker loudly demanded.

"I'm not preparing some warm oil for the carrier!" Ramjet snapped back as he clutched the barrel.

-kliks. Maybe if he ignored them he could just pretend it was quiet-

"Who said you could do that? Give it to me!"

"It's yours!" Sure enough, the white seeker let go just as his blue-violet brother gave a hard yank, only to throw said open barrel into the pile of other drums, sending them all scattering and creating quite the mess on the floor.

"Look at what you did!"

"I was nowhere near that when it happened!"

… Never mind.

"Hey, what's with the nooiiiiiisssseeeee!" Bulkhead made the mistake of running into the living room, concern over the loud noise he failed to notice the growing puddle of oil until his heavy ped stepped right into it and he was sliding into the wall where he crashed into the remaining oil drums, creating an even bigger mess. "… ow."

"Oh perfect! Just as I was going to clean that up!"

Starscream could feel his optic twitching in annoyance he wanted to growl. He spared a glance down as he felt the scout shift and rolled over in his recharge to face him, curling against his chassis and murmured something under his vents. No doubt the noise was bothering him and if it kept going it was going to force him to wake up earlier than intended.

A door opened and heavy ped steps rushed into the main living quarters only to stare in disbelief at the mess. "W-What the?!" Optimus could feel his own oil pressure steadily rising. It was much too early for this, not even a full solar cycle and these—seekers were tearing his base apart! "What is going on here?! Where are the others?!"

"Others? What others?" Ramjet asked as he was forced to clean up the mess his brother blamed on him. He did nothing wrong!

"I sent them to scout the area, to make sure there is nothing out there to harm the carrier," Thundercracker said smugly, wings arched high.

The Prime had to tell himself repeatedly not to yell at the seeker, he was here to help protect Bumblebee—they were _all_ here to help Bumblebee. But he still wanted to wrap his servos around their neck cables and throttle the lifecycle out of them! "Clean up this mess!" he shouted angrily.

The blue-violet seeker gave a short vent as he began to gather the ruined drums in one place. "Who is he to tell me what I should be doing," he mumbled under his vents, stacking them together. "I give the orders here, not him!"

Bulkhead managed to sit up, his gyro-stabilizer trying to right itself. He moved slowly, carefully leaning forward on his servos he began slowly pushing himself up until he was standing. "Okay, so far so good-!" He spoke too soon as he attempted to take a step forward and his ped went skidding backwards, causing him to land faceplates first, making the ground shake and scattering the pile of heavily dented oil drums.

"Look at what you did! I have to start all over!"

"M-My bad."

Starscream was grumbling to himself angrily, vents cycling air rapidly. As much as he wanted to ignore everything and stay in the small berth with the carrier he was up and putting on the final piece of his armor plating. "I will not rip them apart. I will not tear their glossia from their helms nor will I weld their mouth plates shut. They are here to help."

 **CRASH!** "S-Sorry! I got this!" **SMASH!** "I don't got this."

"Oh you're helping us so much! Now the oil is all over the floor!"

"I said clean up this mess not make it bigger!"

Bumblebee grumbled as his optics opened slightly, onlining. He slowly sat up, really wanting to recharge for a bit longer but it was just too loud and noisy. He tried grasping at the blanket as it fell, shivering slightly from the sudden chill but felt servos pulling the blanket around him and peered up at the sleek form. "Waz goin' on? Why e'erybot yellin'?" he asked sleepily.

"Nothing, just a misunderstanding," the seeker said softly, pausing when he heard more yelling and release a low growl under his vents. "I'll handle this, you should recharge some more."

"But-" A large yawn punctured his words as he clutched the blanket tighter around himself; "-'m not tired."

"Of course you aren't." But he gently pushed at his shoulders until he was once more laying on the berth. As soon as his helm touched the pillow Bee was out, vents cycling air softly. The seeker watched him sleep before leaning down to kiss his helm. Grabbing another blanket he covered him and quietly left the room. He had to pause and stared at the very large puddle of oil and obvious trails where a certain mech had slipped in.

Bulkhead was trying to be very careful as he used a mop to try and clean up the oil, but he failed to realize that as he was moping he was making another trail of oil with his own ped prints. Ramjet obviously noticed yet didn't say a thing and Thundercracker was just standing there, refusing to do anything. Optimus Prime looked ready to lose it and looked ready to shout but that would wake up Bumblebee and he wasn't going to let that happen just yet.

"Thundercracker! Ramjet!" he snapped out and both seekers shifted and whirled to look at him. He didn't need to say anything but his wings were twitching up a storm, silently speaking to them in code and watching/hearing them respond. _:Keep your vocalization down or else you'll wake up the carrier.:_

 _:He started it!:_ Thundercracker said with a quick snap of his wings as he glared at eh white seeker.

 _:I did too! Not like the medic said I couldn't give the carrier warm oil!:_ Ramjet said, wings nearly vibrating.

 _:Where is the medic?:_ He would have thought at the first sound of this chaos he would have been out here, yelling obscenities and threatening frame-denting harm to the mechs responsible.

 _:I don't know.:_ A wing flap twitched before falling still. _:The mean femme isn't with him, either.:_

"Clean up this mess and keep your mouth plates shut," he hissed lowly, verbally and physically. The two jets thought to challenge him but seeing how his wings arched high and fanned out, the no-nonsense look in his optics they chose to obey his order and began cleaning the mess. Once in a while their wing tips twitched but that was it. Satisfied Starscream turned to the Autobots and blinked as both were staring at him like he had grown another helm. "What?"

Optimus wanted to ask what they were talking about, knowing they were speaking in some sort of secret dialect but vented softly. "Nothing. Where's Bumblebee?" he asked instead.

"Recharging. Where is the rest of your merry little team?"

"I should be asking you about your clones." He was trying very hard not to be snappy, but his processor was choosing the worse possible moment to remind him of what he heard last night. He chose to remain standing tall, EM field heavily charged, as though staking his claim that this was his territory and all who resided here obeyed his rules. It didn't go unnoticed as the large green wrecker froze and looked a bit nervous and unsure.

Crimson optics narrowed, wings arched high on his back plates; whether the Prime knew it or not, the seeker understood what he was not saying. Megatron usually did this, he believed that how you presented yourself before your troops spoke more than words ever could. Then again, mechs and femmes alike were terrified of the mere mention of his designation. He wanted to challenge him for leadership rights, but why on Cybertron would he want to be in charge of Autobots? "They commed me this morning to patrol your organic city to make sure there are no Decepticons lurking nearby. It wouldn't do it Bumblebee were to be botnapped once more should your words drive him away," he said calmly but not before reminding him of what happened the prior solar cycle. "I answered yours, so you answer mine."

Digits slowly curled into a fight, resisting the urge to pull his energy axe from his subspace but he did release air through his vents slowly, evenly. "Prowl, Ratchet, and Psyche went to Dinobot Island to begin constructions for Bumblebee's new home. As well as to explain the situation to the Dinobots and see if they are willing to help."

"What the slag are Dinobots?" Why did that sound so familiar? Had more Cybertroniums arrived here and he didn't notice? What fraction were they sided with? Why had he not see them yet?

"Professor Sumdac made them and Sari's key gave them sparks. They're not bad, but they're kinda slow," Bulkhead as he continued mopping up the oil. "Sari said she was gonna stop by later, maybe we can go to the island and you can meet them."

Optimus was prepared to say that it wasn't a good idea; the Dinobot hated all trespassers and they would sooner try to roast them on the spot than talk… maybe he should meet Grimlock after all. He was prepared to tell them he was more than welcome to go but the sound of jets overhead made him tense as he looked up. A large skylight in the roof was open and he watched as three colored jets flew overhead, transforming then dropping in, landing quietly thanks to their thrusters. He didn't think he was ever going to get used to them coming and going like this.

"This is a wonderful cityscape! So much to see, so many organics! So much nicer than the moon!" Sunstorm said immediately, wings twitching in obvious excitement.

"But this planet has gravity, what if we're attacked and my wings get damaged and I begin falling? I'll hit the ground too soon!" Skywarp quickly pointed out, wings tense and nervous twitching. "Have you felt the ground? It's hard! I don't want to crash and offline!"

"Maybe if you were a better fighter like moi you wouldn't be so paranoid about crashing!" Thundercracker sneered.

"If you glitches don't be quiet, I'll offline you all myself!" Starscream hissed angrily, sorely tempted to yell at them but the less yelling the better. "Report, now!"

"Bossy mech," Slipstream muttered, wingtips twitching in annoyance as she crossed her servos over her chassis. "No sign of the 'Cons we fought the other day. But I wouldn't put it past them to be hiding out there waiting for the time to attack then run like the cowards they are." Looking around she glared at the mess of oil that was slowly being cleaned up and turned to her "creator" with a side-long glance. _:What happened here?:_

 _:A mess. But keep quiet, Bumblebee is still recharging.:_ That got the attention of the others as their wings began twitching in response.

 _:Still? Is it normal for a carrier to recharge for so long?:_ Skywarp asked, optics darting to the hall where their rooms were located.

 _:It varies, but I give him another joor.:_ While recharging was essential too much would cause the joints and gears to lock up, and ultimately lead to transformation problems.

 _:So what do we do in the meantime?:_ Sunstorm asked. The red-violet seeker looked around, seeing that the oil was finally being cleaned up and the area was secure, but he wanted to check out the island and make sure it was suitable for the carrier and the future sparkling. Venting deeply he looked unsure and his wings dropped a bit.

 _:For now, we wait.:_ None of them liked the idea but at least they would be here for the carrier if he needed assistance.

* * *

Prowl considered himself a calm, quiet mech who didn't need a lot to keep himself entertained, but right now he was struggling not to laugh as the two medics were growing increasing frustrated by explaining the concept of the reproduction to the Dinobots.

"Okay, let's go over this one last time!" Ratchet vented heavily, rubbing his tired optics with his servo. "Bumblebee is currently carrying, which means he is housing a sparkling within himself, understand?"

"Yesss…?"

Another heavy vent as he allowed his servo to drop. "A sparkling is just what it sounds like, only much smaller." Hearing a smothered snicker he glared at the Cyber Ninja.

Psyche was going through the data pads she had brought and finally showed the large Dinobot what they were talking about. "Okay Grimlock, you see this big shiny ball?" He nodded. "That's a spark, it what we all have that lets us walk, talk, and in your case smash stuff."

"Me have that? Where?" he looked down at his chassis where the femme pointed then gestured to the other Dinobots. "Them have shiny ball?"

"We all have it. Now, a sparkling is like the shiny ball, only much much smaller." Swiping through the datapad once more she pulled up the image she had taken of Bumblebee's spark and pointed out the tiny spark close to his. "This is the sparkling."

The large mechanical t-rex peered down at the screen but he didn't seem impressed. "Why yellow car have two shiny things? Me want puny shiny thing!"

"Primus help me," she muttered but turned to the other Dinobots to show them what she was talking about. "You see the sparkling, right?"

Swoop, the only flier of the trio, nodded slowly. "Sparkling, like tiny organics?"

"That's right, Swoop. A sparkling is similar to the smaller organics here on your island," Prowl said with a proud smile. Each time he came to visit them he tried to explain everything he had learned to them: Swoop seemed eager to learn; Grimlock was stubborn and refused to learn; and the triceratops who called himself Snarl, seemed to vary between sessions. "Do you remember the bird's nest you found?"

"Yes! You say, me no touch, no touch tiny white rocks inside."

"Yes but I also told you those weren't rocks, they were eggs. Those are baby birds that have yet to hatch."

"Me Grimlock no like birds! They always throwing white stuff at me Grimlock!"

"Don't ask," Ratchet mumbled to the femme when she looked at him questioningly. "So you finally understand what a sparkling is?" The Dinobots slowly nodded so he decided not to push it. "So that brings us to why we're here. The kid needs a place to stay and your island is the safest spot for it-"

"No!" Without warning Grimlock transformed and immediately unleashed a flash of fire at the Autobots, making them scrambled or end up getting roasted alive. "Dinobot Island for Dinobots only! No cars!"

"So much for him agreeing with us," the medic mumbled.

"Grimlock, please understand. Bumblebee and his sparkling need a safe place to stay and there is nowhere safer than your island," Psyche spoke slowly, holding her servos out to show she meant no harm. "Isn't Bumblebee your friend?"

"Yellow car friend… he no call us Dinobots names," he rumbled.

"And you like him, right?" There was a low growl but he wasn't saying no. "He's not going to take over your island and he doesn't want to be your new leader, he just wants a safe place to live. Is that okay?"

Grimlock wasn't sure, yellow car was his friend, he was nice and showed him how to play game on big screen. He never called them names and didn't yell at him when he smashed something he wasn't supposed to. But, cars were bad. Cars eat Dinobots! Growling he felt the fire fill his mouth, ready to unleash it but froze when one of the other Dinobots spoke up.

"Snarl say we help yellow car and tiny spark," Snarl said quietly as he looked at the datapad that was still showing the tiny sparkling. He managed to zoom in and was looking at the image with what appeared to be affection on his faceplates. "Yellow car friend, ninja bot say friends help friends."

"No! Me Grimlock leader and me say no cars!" he snapped and was about to charge at the cars, to chase them off his island he failed to notice Snarl charging at him, slamming into him with enough force to knock him over. He was stunned but as he scrambled to his peds, ready to unleash the blast of fire at his other comrade large servos reached out and forcefully held his mouth plates together. The fire began building and the growing heat was warping metal, overheating circuits, and activating his sensory network. It was hurting, a lot! His processor, although limited in intelligence, halted the fire and struggled to deal with the overheating.

Snarl was growling back at his leader, either not noticing or caring that his servos were badly burned but he continued to hold the large mouth shut. "Grimlock glitch," he growled lowly, surprising everybot. "Yellow car friend to Dinobots, Snarl like yellow car. We help, yellow car stay on Dinobot Island, protect tiny sparkling. Grimlock say yes, or me Snarl not let go." Said mech tried to pull free but Snarl would have none of it. Snarling like his namesake he twisted his heavy frame and pulled the large mech to the ground, all the while keeping a vice like grip on the scorched mouth plates. "We help yellow car! No like, then Grimlock leave island!"

The Autobots were afraid to move, even Prowl. Oh all the time he visited the Dinobots he had never seen Snarl act this way! It was, well, it was a bit frightening! He saw movement from the corner of his optic and turned only to see Psyche slowly, calmly, making her way towards them. "Psyche! Get away from them!" he tried to warn her but she kept moving.

"Snarl?" Said Dinobot growled lowly but didn't look up at the femme. "Snarl, you need to let Grimlock go." Another growl and servos clenched the brittle metal even tighter. Psyche winced at eh painful sound of metal ripping and she could tell that the larger Dinobot was in some serious pain. Slowly she reached out, touching the growling mech's arm but she froze as she realized something very important, something that was making perfect sense right now. "Snarl… you're, not like Grimlock or Swoop, are you."

"…" The vice grip loosened but not entirely. "Snarl—different. Not know why," he admitted quietly.

"It's okay to be different, but hurting Grimlock is not the answer." Slowly, gently, she trailed her servo down the arm and over the clenched servo, still looking at eh growling faceplates. She waited until he looked at her and smiled gently. "I can help you, I want to help you. I want to be your friend."

He blinked rapidly, optics shuddering. "You, want be Snarl friend?"

"Yes. Call me Psyche." Still smiling she waited until finally, Snarl released Grimlock who immediately backed away, whimpering at the pain in his faceplates. Psyche slowly reached out and inspected the burned servos. "First, I fix your servos, then we talk."

"Talk, good." Now that the Dinobots had calmed Psyche began tending to the delicate circuits and wires on the burnt servos. The two were a bit away from the others and were speaking quietly but Ratchet had enlisted the help of both Prowl and Swoop to deal with Grimlock's singed mouth plates.

Said mech let out an insanely loud roar as he jerked his helm back. "It hurts!" he growled loudly.

"Oh course it hurts!" the medbot snapped at him, resisting the urge to smack him with his favorite wrench. "Now open up and don't move!" fixing him with a glare Ratchet moved forward and began to numb the sensors inside so he could begin tending to the fried wires and circuitry. "Who's brilliant idea was it to give them the ability to breathe fire?"

"I believe when Sari's key granted them a spark of their own, their frames adapted and gave them said abilities. Including that which enables them to transform," he explained and stiffened when he received a comm. Lifting a servo he touched his audio receiver. "Prowl here."

 **"** **Prowl, this is Optimus Prime. Have you and the others searched for a suitable home for Bumblebee yet?"**

Optics shuddered as he blinked. "Not exactly…" he said slowly, wincing as he heard Ratchet's wrench connect with metal plating.

"I said don't move!"

"It hurts!"

"It's gonna hurt more if you continue moving!"

The Cyber Ninja vented softly, turning away from the group so he could focus on the call instead. "We had a situation concerning the Dinobots, but they have agreed to let Bumblebee stay. We haven't had a chance to scout what could be used as a temporary shelter. Over the comm link he could hear muttering and air being cycled heavily. "Optimus?"

 **"…** **I'll have the seekers join you-" CRASH! "-so they can explain what-"** Yelling could barely be heard followed by another crash. **"-they're looking for—will you stop yelling at each other?!"**

 **"** **What'd I do?"**

Prowl winced as his team leader forgot to turn off his side of the comm link as he began yelling and verbally berating one of the seekers. See how he wasn't going to be getting a word in edge wise he closed off his side of the link. _'I had better warn them about the seekers coming to help,'_ he thought and turned to his comrades. In the back of his processor he was wondering how Bumblebee was doing.

* * *

The minibot carrier was trying to recharge, he really was, but it was too loud. He even tried offlining his audio receivers but it would last several breems before onlining again, making him incredibly irritable. A particularly loud crash made him groan softly and slowly sit up, clutching the blankets around his bare frame.

 _'_ _Why am I cold?'_ Looking down he blinked tiredly as he realized his protective plating had been removed. He looked around for it only to see it off to the side, stacked neatly for him. _'When—oh, right.'_ Now he remembered every last intimate detail of being with the former Decepticon seeker last night, especially how gentle and almost loving nature. He felt his faceplates heat up in response, clinging to the blankets currently wrapped around his frame. He had somewhat fuzzy memories of waking up earlier only for the seeker to gently push him back to the berth to recharge some more. He acted as though—as though he cared. _'Does he?'_ he shouldn't be thinking about it but as his servo gently trailed along his chassis the protective plates opened and the light of his spark filled the room.

His spark was pulsing strongly and steadily, a gentle silver-blue light and the tiny sparkling continued to orbit his larger one, a pure white color. It was orbiting his closely in a steady pulse, as though content and happy. It also appeared bigger, was it because she received spark energy from her sire last night? He just smiled and gently pressed his digits against the casting and sent thoughts of love and joy to it. Sitting on his berth he was completely unaware of the tiny pocket bot that had recorded everything and even now was transmitting a live feed back to the leader of the Decepticons.

The concept of love was seen as nothing more than a weak emotion, one that overruled one's spark and left them vulnerable to attacks. There was no love in his forces, there was loyalty, respect, and fear, of course, but no love. Although, on some occasion there was lust and desire. Megatron's desire was strong, the desire to have Cybertron and its bots under his command would never change, he would never falter, but seeing the way the carrier interfaced with his traitorous SIC had sparked a longing of lust in his cold system. It had been such a very long time since he had indulged in such primitive pleasure, forcing one to submit to his will. It had gotten tiring quickly as the ones he tended to take to his berth broke so easily for his taste. But he had never taken a minibot before and he could see he still had some fight in him.

 _'_ _Perhaps, I should think of a different approach to bringing him over to my side,'_ he thought to himself as he continued to watch the live feed. Being of such a large frame himself, he never bothered to notice other mechs or femmes around him. Yet here he was, watching and studying the Autobot's lithe frame as he closed his chassis and slipped out of the berth, going over to where his armor plating lay and bent over to retrieve pieces, slowly slipping them on one at a time. He took in the fact that beneath the unsightly plating his protoform was sleek, lithe, with smooth curves. He had the ideal framework to become a seeker, but he was a bit small and did not have the necessary components to bear wings of his own. _'Such a shame. I wonder how different things would have been if he had been created as a seeker instead.'_

Bumblebee sighed once he snapped the final piece in place and gave himself a good once over. It did feel good to have it back on but as he looked down at his mid-section he frowned. The bottom part of his armor plating was feeling a bit tight and it was uncomfortable. He pressed his servos against the "bump" where the protoform was slowly being build and vented softly. He was told it was going to get bigger, but so far no one mentioned anything about his plating. if this kept up he wasn't going to fit into it anymore. He went over to a large piece of glass and studied his frame intently. He had witnessed humans doing similar things, trying to appear smaller as they tried to put on clothing that seemed too small. He felt like he was doing that now but he wasn't vain about his appearance. After all, he was going to have a sparkling of his very own in a few orbital cycles.

 _'_ _I wonder who you'll take after more, sweetspark,'_ he smiled as he affectionate stroked his swollen middle; he had completely tuned out the sound of yelling outside so he never noticed as his door opened a crack and a tiny figure darted in.

"Bumblebee!"

Jumping slightly the scout turned, servos immediately clutching his chassis protectively but he looked down and broke into a beaming smile. "Sari!" Dropping to his knee joints he quickly gathered the techno-organic to his chassis and hugged her close. It felt too long since he had last seen his best friend and he was beginning to miss her. "Where ya been? I haven't seen ya in forever!"

"Well I tried visiting you the other day but you had already taken off," she explained and felt like kicking herself when he lost his smile, looking away. "S-Sorry! I didn't mean to bring it up, honest!"

"No, it's alight. I'm just glad they didn't succeed whatever they had planned," he said softly. Still holding her close he moved to his berth and sat down, now cradling her in his servos.

"Yeah, Optimus told me everything. Bee… are you sure you can trust Starscream?"

"I do. He's changed, he even apologized for what he did to me… I mean, I haven't forgotten everything, but he's really trying. And if it wasn't for Skywarp and Slipstream, I'd probably be in Megatron's servos right now." It was something he hoped would never come to pass.

The young teenager didn't seem sure but sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Okay… but I'm gonna keep an extra close eye on him, that's for sure!" Seeing her best friend smile even slightly made her mood much better. "So Ratchet told me you're gonna have a baby, that's so cool! I have so many questions like what's it gonna look like? Is it gonna be a boy or a girl? Are you gonna raise it here in Detroit? Oh puleaze say yes! I always wanted to be a big sister!"

"H-hey slow down! You sound Blurr for an astrosecond!" he laughed and thought about it before answering. "I'm not sure how I know, but lately I've been dreaming of a seeker. I don't know how I know but it's not Starscream or the others. She's beautiful, as though she was created to fly. I can't make out much but I just know deep down in my spark it's gonna be a femme. And I wanna raise it here, let her know there's some pretty cool things about organics…" At this he trailed off, unsure how to tell her.

"Bumblebee? What's wrong? Was it something I said?" She wasn't used to seeing him quiet like this, it wasn't natural but as she looked up at him realization donned on her. "You're going back to Cybertron?"

"I can't. I don't know what Ultra Magnus will do, but if the High Council finds out I got sparked by a Decepticon-" He froze and couldn't stop the almost violent shiver racing through his system, making him clutch at his chassis. "I-I can't take that risk. I don't care if I spend a lifecycle in hiding, I won't let anyone harm my sparkling."

"Neither will I. I'm an Autobot too and if anyone thinks to mess with you or my future little sister, they're gonna have to answer to me!"

"This coming from an organic that has to make sure somebot doesn't accidentally step on her," came an annoyed vocalizer. Slipstream stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with her servos crossed over her chassis and watching the duo. "Starscream said you woke up, he's already yelling at everyone for being so loud."

"It wasn't them, I just didn't feel like recharging anymore," Bee said with a slight shrug but stood from his berth, lifting Sari up so she was sitting atop his shoulder. "Maybe I should make sure no one gets dismantled."

"Would be an improvement, that's for sure," the femme muttered but stepped aside to let him out. As he walked towards the living room she took note of his frame and how part of his plating was fitting tighter than the last time she looked at him. She didn't like it and she already had a feeling what Starscream was going to say when he noticed. After a klik she followed after him.

The mess the oil had caused was finally cleaned up and Bulkhead was attempting to paint to clear his processor, but each time he put a can of paint down it was taken away. So now he was arguing with Ramjet who kept lying about taking them and Sunstorm who would not stop complimenting whatever he did, even when he tried cleaning his brushes.

"Give me back my paint! I'm not done!" he snapped at the white jet.

"I didn't take them! Whatever would give you that idea?" he vented only to have the wrecker point at the can of canary yellow in his servo. "This isn't paint, it's my energon."

"Oh such a lovely color! On you it would really make you stand out even more!" the yellow jet complimented only to have said can thrust into his own servos. "Oh your generosity knows no bounds!"

"For the last time, I'm giving the orders here and you will participate in patrols!" Optimus yelled at the other seekers, feeling his optic twitch.

"B-But it's scary out there!" Skywarp whimpered as he hid behind Thundercracker who sneered at him. "What if we run into Megatron? What if my thrusters stop working? Or worse, what if I catch some organic virus? I don't wanna die!"

"Why should we help you help those weak organics? We should be looking for more AllSpark fragments! Or better yet, proving who can be the most helpful to the carrier! Namely that would be me!" the blue-violet jet said smugly.

"Why, why did I think it would be a good idea to create you glitches?" Starscream swore under his vents, once more regretting his decision and resisting the urge to start yelling. A tug at his spark made him snap his helm up and stare at the doorway as Bumblebee slowly walked in. It didn't go unnoticed as the other clones noticed and soon five pairs of red optics were staring at him.

Bee froze in mid-step, lowering his ped down he couldn't help but be just a tad nervous. "Um, hi?" No one moved, even vents stalled but luckily the silence was broken as his large green pal ran up to him and immediately drew him into a crushing hug, knocking Sari off her perch where she luckily had her jet pack to keep her from hitting the ground.

"Little buddy, you're alright!" Bulkhead said happily as he hugged him tightly, even swinging him in a circle. "I was really worried about you! How ya feeling? You need anything? Just name it and I'll get it for you! Oh! Wanna see my newest painting?"

"I-" Before he could even ask there was a ripple in the air as a sleek form appeared behind the trapped scout, and in another ripple he was gone from the crushing servos. Bee blinked, his gyro-stabilizer trying to adjust itself but he was aware of the servos holding him rather protectively and a very familiar hissing sound. "What…?"

"Are you out of your processor?!" Sunstorm snapped angrily as he and his brother stood protectively before the carrier, wings arched high on their backplates, clawed digits tense, protocols coming online and overriding their processors.

"Huh? What'd I do?" he asked, confusion clear on his broad faceplates.

"You were trying to crush the carrier!" Ramjet accused even as he stole the scout from his brother's servos and hold him close to his own chassis, purposely holding his helm where his spark was pulsing. "Are you trying to offline him?!"

"What? T-That's a hug! It's how friends greet each other!" seriously? Didn't they know what a hug was? Then again, maybe not. "I wasn't hurting him!"

"Oh really? This coming from the same mech who couldn't take a single step without slipping in the same patch of oil more than once," Thundercracker accused. "What if you fell and landed on top of the carrier!"

"I would never!" But, what if he did? "… y-you have a point… I guess…"

"H-Hey waitaklik! Bulkie's—my best—friend!" Bumblebee said even as he tried getting out of the seeker's grip but he was refusing to let go. "Lemme go-o!"

Optimus now had both servos to his helm, trying to quell the processor ache that was rapidly growing worse. Repeating that the seekers were here to help was also not helping. He made to demand Starscream do something about them but was startled when he saw the seeker heading to the clones. He watched as the red-violet seeker took Bumblebee from the other seeker's grip, hissing lowly as his wings fanned out to their full-width.

 _:Will you glitches stop fighting this instant? You are embarrassing yourselves and the carrier!:_ he hissed at them.

 _:But that wrecker could have hurt him!:_ Ramjet protested.

 _:He would never hurt him intentionally! He is his friend and you will apologize to him.:_

 _:What?! No!:_ Thundercracker said, wings trembling a megamile a klik.

 _:Yes you will or Primus help me I will reformate you all myself!:_ he threaten.

Their wings twitched but they were clearly not happy about this. _:Do we really have to listen to that Autobot Prime?:_ Skywarp asked, glancing at Optimus.

 _:He's right, each time we're away means there's no one around to take care of the carrier,:_ Sunstorm pointed out, crossing his servos over his chassis. _:I won't do it.:_

 _:And make a bigger mess than you did this morning?:_ Slipstream pointed out, wings flickering. Noticing how the yellow mech looked rather uncomfortable she cocked an optic ridge at her creator and trine leader. "I don't think he's like being held like that."

"What?" Blinking he looked down to see Bee struggling to get down and failing miserably.

"Put me down!" Bee yelled once more, pushing at the servos holding onto him. He could walk on his own for Primus' sake!

Frowning Starscream saw the truth in her words but he also didn't want to upset Bee. "…" he moved slowly, hesitantly, and placed him down on his peds.

"Finally!" the minibot muttered, glaring slightly at the seekers he pushed past them and this time hugged his friend. "I'm sorry I worried you, Bulkie. I promise not to scare you or anyone else like that again."

The wrecker seemed unsure but smiling he wrapped his massive servos around him and hugged him with much less force than before. "So right, just glad you're back," he smiled. It was a sweet moment thought everyone looked up when they heard a ping at the communication hub. Optimus wordlessly made his way over but he was surprised to see the faceplates of a concerned Psyche on the screen. "Optimus Prime, here."

"Optimus, this is Psyche. First, things are going fine here. The Dinobots agree to let Bee stay here and are more than happy to even help protect him and the sparkling. Also, how did you glitches not realize Snarl is a femme?"

At this everyone couldn't help but blink. One of the Dinobots was a femme? And who was Snarl?

"Snarl is the triceratops and Swoop is the pteranodon," Bumblebee said, shrugging slightly as he made his way to the communication center. "They came up with the names when they were here, and I knew Snarl was a femme."

"Wait, onna them's a fembot? How come you didn't say anything?" Bulkhead asked, clearly confused.

"And how did you know?" Sari asked after flying up to perch herself on Bulkhead's shoulder.

"I dunno, I just know she was different from Grimlock and Swoop." For one thing she didn't share Grimlock's short-temper and she gave off an EM field that reminded him a lot of Psyche. "And she didn't say anything cuz she was confused."

"Alright, so one of the Dinobots is a femme. Have you and the others found a place where Bumblebee will be safe?" Optimus asked as he rubbed at his forehelm.

"We were, but then something happened." Venting softly she uploaded a video feed to show them what was going on. Grimlock and Snarl were currently going at it like they were the worse of enemies, with a frustrated Prowl trying to stop them. Behind Psyche was Ratchet who was cursing up a storm and trying to fix his ripped-off arm with one servo, an unsure Swoop trying to help. The screen went back to Psyche who looked exhausted and frustrated. "We've been at this for several joors. I've tried coming Skyfire but that giant glitch turned off his comm link.

 _:I can think of two reasons why he did that,:_ Thundercracker smirked, wings twitching. His brothers smirked, wings twitching in response only to stop when Starscream glared at them.

"Just, do what you can. We'll send help shortly."

"Fine, Psyche ou—Grimlock! Don't you dare-" Whatever the fembot was going to say was cut off and the screen turned to black. As the acting Prime tried to figure out what to the tiny pocket bot that had hitched a ride on the carrier was listening intently to everything going on.

 _'_ _So, the carrier will be under the protection of those dimbulbed Dinobots. Things will seem to finally be working in my favor,'_ he smirked. Leaning his communication hub Megatron walked out of his quarters to the main area where his Decepticon forces were at. Needless to say he was not surprised to see the Constructicons were drinking more than their mass in oil, Mindwipe was currently hanging from the roof of base upside down, and Cyclonus was sharpening his swords. There was no sign of Lugnut, Blitzwing, or Oil Slick but that didn't matter right now. As soon as he entered the mysterious 'Cons looked up and immediately stood as he walked over to him.

"Lord Megatron, was there something you needed?" he asked as he subspaced his swords away.

"Yes, I have news about the Autobot carrier. He will be moved to a new location in an attempt to protect him and his sparkling."

"Then I shall head there immediately and bring them both to you at once." He would not fail the warlord again but before he could take off he was stopped.

"Not quite, I want you to deliver a message when the time is right."

* * *

After a long and loud debate, Optimus Prime and Starscream came to an agreement dealing with the seekers. As long as they were around, they would assist in patrolling Detroit as well as construction of Bumblebee's temporary home on Dinobot Island. The seekers were not happy about it. But Bee was especially not happy about it, either. For one thing, he wasn't allowed to go on patrols nor was he allowed out of the factory unless somebot was with him (Sari didn't count much to the techno-organics dismay). No one wanted to run the risk of having him get hurt or being botnapped. But it didn't mean he had to like it.

"So bored!" he moaned, dropping the video game controller onto his lap. His days pretty much consisted of staying indoors, watching the monitors for any alerts, and staying calm. Since there wasn't much to do Bumblebee alternated his time between video games and napping but even with the new game Sari had brought he was getting bored pretty fast. He was allowed outside but he always had to go with somebot to keep an eye on him, and that usually lead to an argument among the seekers who were each determined to spend more time with him. It had gotten to the point where one time Sunstorm and Ramjet had each taken a servo each and nearly threaten to tear him in half when Prowl swiftly dealt with them, stating that if they couldn't act like civilized mechs, then they could go to Dinobot Island and help with construction there. They didn't listen and before the solar cycle was over, they were flying to the island, grumbling under their vents at the "punishment".

"Still bored…" he muttered to himself, pushing himself up from the couch he vented softly and looked down at his mid-section. It didn't look any bigger but Ratchet had mentioned if it did get any bigger he would have to perform surgery to let his protoform expand. Why? Simple enough: he was a minibot, his frame was designed to carry minibot sparklings; Starscream was a full-formed seeker, much larger than him and while their frames were sleek and created for agility in the air, their sparklings were much larger than that of a minibot. There had never been a case of a minibot and seeker hybrid before and there was a 50% chance of the sparkling being born to either frame. But Bee knew his sparkling was going to be a seeker just like her sire. He flushed slightly when he had told Starscream and explained his dreams.

 _The red-violet seeker stared at him for a full breem, making the minibot worry but before he could ask him if there was something wrong he reached out and rested his servo over his mid-section. "We need more femmes in our world," he said softly and smiled up at him. It wasn't snide or even a smirk, it was warm and genuine. "They help balance out the idiocy of mechs."_

 _"_ _Is that why you created Slipstream?" he asked even as he reached out and covered his servo._

 _"_ _It was by chance, but you've seen her around the others. She can help teach our own femme how to be strong and fearless."_

Rubbing at his stomach plates he took a walk around the old factory, moving from one part to the other. While he wasn't allowed outside without a chaperone and Sari was stuck at home, catching up on homework (he still didn't understand why she couldn't do it here), he was getting bored again. He was tired of napping and decided to see if Prowl would be willing to let him go outside even for a joor. That was another thing he noticed had changed and secretly, he enjoyed it. The Cyber Ninja was always there when he needed him, making sure he was getting enough fuel, that he didn't over indulge in his chocolate covered bon bons, but that he also walked as much as he could. He didn't want him to transform unless he had to, given that he was afraid that it would accidentally harm the sparkling, but Ratchet, Psyche, and even Skyfire had remarked that until the sparkling moved into the protoform he could transform and it was better if he decreased the usage little by little. He paused during his walk when he felt a stirring in his chassis and smiled.

"I guess you wanna go for a drive?" Another pulse, filled with excitement made him grin even broader. "Yeah, you're gonna be a racer just like me. Let's go ask Prowl."

The ninja was trying to meditate, clearing his processor, trying to achieve enlightenment but his thought process kept going back to the scout and his sparkling. Even since Bumblebee told him that he was sparked and that the sire was Starscream he had tried to help him however he could, but he didn't want to smother him like he had seen the seekers do. He was surprised that Bee hadn't yelled at them to leave him alone but this was new to all of them. He had done his own research and knew that Bee was an active mech and being cooped inside for so long was bound to drive him crazy, and carriers needed to keep moving. Any meditation was gone when he heard a gentle knock on his door and he vented softly. "Enter."

The door opened and Bumblebee gave him a shy smile as he stepped into the doorway. "Hey Prowl, trying to meditate?" he asked.

"I'm afraid I'm not getting much done today," he admitted as he stood in one fluid move. "How are you feeling? Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I'm fine, just really bored." He took a few steps into the room, looking at the floor before looking up at him. "Can I go outside? Just a little drive."

"Bumblebee…" He encouraged exercise, but it seemed that every time he went outside something happened to him and he was never able to get to him in time.

"Please Prowl! I'm really bored and I need to move! Even my sparkling wants to me to get outta here and drive!" Stepping closer to him he reached out, taking his servo and pressed it firmly on his chassis. "See? She wants me to go outside and drive for a bit! And I'm not going alone, I'm going with you."

"B-Bumblebee…" He wasn't use to physical contact, the most he'd ever done was hold the scout when he needed comfort and support, so which his servo pressed against his chassis, feeling the warmth and vibration of the sparkling he was housing, it made him smile ever so softly. Looking up into the large, bright blue optics he sighed but nodded. "Alright, I'll let Optimus know-" His words were cut off and he staggered a bit as the minibot launched himself into his arms, wrapping both servos and stabilizers around him in a tight embrace.

"Thank you! I was gonna die of boredom here! I promise, I'll listen to whatever you say, I'll even stay under the speed limit! Thank you thank you thank you!" He didn't mean for it to happen, he was just so happy, still holding him tightly he kissed the startled ninja on the side of his faceplates then just as suddenly as he jumped on him, he let go. He was flushing a bit himself but he was still smiling. "I'll meet you at the exit!" he was gone in a flash.

Prowl, well, prowl was stunned but there was no denying that he was blushing quite hard. He never expected the minibot to actually kiss him like that but it warmed his system nicely. He ended up standing there in the middle of his room for several more kliks before his processor reminded him that Bumblebee was waiting. Heading out he sent a quick comm to Optimus who had actually gone to Sentinel's ship to see if he was willing to cooperate and behave. "Optimus, please come in. This is, Prowl."

 **"** **Optimus, here. Is something wrong?"**

"No, but Bumblebee has expressed a need to get some fresh air, I'm going to take him to the park for a mega-cycle then return to base."

 **"** **Are you sure that's wise? At least take the jettwins with you."**

"Everyone is either at Dinobot Island or patrolling the city. I'll leave me comm link open just in case there's an emergency, but I think we should let Bumblebee have a little bit of freedom for the time being." There was a long pause of silence before the team leader spoke up.

 **"** **One mega-cycle. Comm me immediately if you so much as sense something wrong."**

"I will. Prowl, out." He didn't know the air stalled in his vents until he released it. It didn't escape his notice that their leader had also been acting differently, but he couldn't place his digit on it. Heading to the exit they used he was surprised to see Bumblebee just standing there; he seemed so excited earlier and now he was frozen on the spot. As he stepped closer he realized he was fidgeting and his EM field spoke of fear. "Bumblebee?"

He jumped and whirled to the ninja before ducking his head down. "S-Sorry, didn't hear you," he said quietly. "I-I changed my processor, I'm gonna stay here. I mean, I can always hang out in your room! You got a tree, that's enough nature for me!" he turned and was prepared to head back inside but froze when a servo caught his own.

"Bee, I know you're scared," the ninja said softly, feeling him tense but he gave his servo a gentle squeeze. "But you can't hide from your fears. You said it yourself, your sparkling wants you to be outside, and I know you miss it as well."

"… each time I go outside, I end up getting botnapped. First it was Starscream, then it was his clones, then it was those creepy new 'Cons. What if this time its Megatron and he decides to just offline me right there?" His servo shook as he held it up to his chassis, suddenly feeling even more afraid than before. "I don't want her to die."

He hated seeing him like this, it wasn't fair. Without releasing his servo Prowl stepped up behind Bumblebee and hugged him close, pressing his chassis into his backplates. "It's alright to be afraid, Bee. I was afraid I would never see you again when you went missing, I was afraid you would never be the same annoying speedster I grew to appreciate, and even now I'm afraid of any complications that may arise with your sparkling," he said softly, arms tightening around him.

"You-You're afraid? But you're never afraid," the minibot whispered back, squeezing the servo tightly.

"Not true. I'm always afraid, I choose to keep it hidden and let it fuel my desire to protect those I care about." He paused and vented softly as he hugged him closer, gently touching his mid-section as though afraid to touch his chassis. "I will protect you and your sparkling, Bee. I promise you."

"Prowl…" He felt as though coolant wanted to pool behind his optics, a sob trying to work itself free but he swallowed it back. Psyche had mentioned something about mood swings, was this what she meant? He closed his optics and continued to hold the servo tightly; he just wanted to be held, to know that somebot was there for him. After a full breem he tilted his head back and gave the ninja a sweet smile. "Thanks, Prowl."

His spark seemed to swell as the bright smile even as he nodded to him. "You're welcome. Do you still want to go for a drive?"

"Yeah… I really do." Slowly, reluctantly, the arms released him and he stepped forward before transforming. It felt good to be doing this and his sparkling seemed to be enjoying the gentle vibrations of his engine block. Hearing the ninja do the same he honked his horn and was soon driving, soon followed by the motorcycle. As long as prowl was with him, he had nothing to fear.

The skies were clear, the sun shining, the birds were singing their pleasant melody, it was perfect weather to be outside. True to word, Bumblebee was going the speed limit and not once attempted to go on the highway or sped between cars. Following at a respectably distance was Prowl, his hologram avatar inn full view. He was just far enough away so that the scout wouldn't feel like he was being followed but close enough that he could still see him within viewing distance. Pulling into the parking lot of a playground they parked and Prowl let his avatar fade so they would resemble ordinary Earth vehicles. The playground wasn't in use but there were a few people either sitting on the benches or walking the paved path. Bumblebee was hoping to see some children playing but checking his chronometer he realized that were still in school and wouldn't be let out for a few mega-cycles. He did enjoy the peace and quiet, it was soothing and the heat from the sun beating down on him was nice.

"Is it always this quiet?" Bumblebee asked the motorcycle next to him.

"It depends on the time of day. Even when it rains it's a soothing presence, not unlike the acid rain on Cybertron," he said quietly.

"I hate acid rain, ruins my finish." Plus, it hurt when the drops managed to slip into gaps and burned through the more sensitive wires and circuits. If you really unlucky, it would burn and badly scar the protoflesh beneath it all. He used to remember during those times the caretakers were extra cautious to make sure none of the younglings went outside, the few times they actually seemed to care about their welfare.

"True, but it serves it purpose as well, it washes away the old to make way for the new."

"You get that from your nature shows?"

"… perhaps." He wished he could smile in this form as the scout couldn't help but laugh, his frame shaking slightly. They didn't stay there long before Bee wanted to continue driving and they drove through downtown Detroit, passing by more organics, and the occasional Sumdac robot. It was perfect weather but the more they drove the warmer the minibot was beginning to feel. He tried to pass it off as the sun getting warmer and tried driving past the tall buildings in hopes of getting some shade, but even so it was still growing, stronger than before.

 _'_ _Oh no, not now. Please not now,'_ he begged but he couldn't help it. Without meaning to he picked up speed, desperately searching for somewhere with a lot of shade he could duck into and found himself in front of the large parking structure with multiple levels going up but a few down as well. It was still under construction but the gate was open. Hearing Prowl shouting after him he quickly drove inside and headed for the lower level. The shade was cool and dark but the heat was still burning up inside him. _'Oh Primus… why now?'_

"Bumblebee!"

 _'_ _Prowl…'_ He should have stayed in his vehicle mode but he transformed, and ducked down as he tried to hide. "I-I'm fine!" he called out when he heard him stop then transform. "I-just needed to find some shade!"

"Why didn't you say something? I thought something was wrong when you took off," he said, turning on his headlight to see but was startled when the scout yelled at him to turn them off. "Bumblebee? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's w-wrong! I, just don't want the light on me." He tried to suppress the whimper as he felt lubrication begin to build behind his panel, his spike pressurizing behind his cod piece. _'M-Maybe, I ca-can overload—myself!'_ It was worth a shot, but he had to make sure the ninja didn't notice or hear him.

Something didn't seem right, but while he kept his lights off he turned on his night vision and adjusted it so he wouldn't get blinded by the streaks of sunlight coming through. "Bumblebee, I said I'm here to help you no matter what you need," he spoke softly, moving slowly and carefully.

"Y-You don't get it," he whimpered as both cod piece and panel slid open. Squatting against a thick support pillar he wrapped one servo around his spike and began stroking it. Oh Primus that felt good, but the heat was still burning hotly. "Jus-st, leave me a-alone…" Digits slowly moved down, tracing his valve for a few kliks before slowly pushing them in. Optics shuttered close, slowly losing himself in his self-pleasure.

Prowl froze and adjusted his audio receivers. What was that sound? It sounded, peculiar, but not a sound he was familiar with. It sounded, almost organic in a way but there were no organic life forms down here. "Bumblebee? Are you alright?" There was no answer but the sound was getting louder the closer he moved in. Was he hurt? Was something down here with them despite his scans? Should he comm Optimus for back up? He moved closer and could now hear very quiet whimpers and feared the worse.

Digits continued to stroke and thrust, trying to relieve the burning pressure in his system but it wasn't enough. He needed more, he needed a frag right now to help relieve the overload. _'O-Oh Primus—not, enough!'_ he whimpered, fans running hot, trying to cool down his system. So focused on trying to achieve an overload he failed to hear the Cyber Ninja getting closer until there was a startled gasp, vents stalling. Optics slowly onlined, having not realized he had shut them down he felt his entire system heat up as the slender mech standing before him. "Prrroowl?" Did he just purr his name? Whatever it was he whimpered and moved his servos faster, arching his chassis as he felt his system trying to open it up.

"B-B-Bumblebee? W-Wha… What are y-you do-doing?" Well that was a stupid question, he knew what he was doing! The real question was _why_ was he doing it! Was this what he was trying to keep him from seeing?

"T-Too hot… ne-needa, overload…" he panted in an attempt to cool his system down. Oh he was so close, it was almost there but it was just out of his reach! "P-Prrroowleerrr… help me-e…"

"B-Bee…" Oh no, no way was his system heating up each time he purred his name like that. And where did he come up with such a nickname? But he had promised to help him with whatever he needed, and he looked like he was in so much pain… _'Primus, forgive me,'_ he whispered and silently knelt before the panting minibot.

"… B-Bumblebee… I, know you think you want this, but I can't… I can't, do this to you," he said softly. He hated the way the lust and desire in the optics began to lighten in color, turning to disappointed and shame. "Bumble-"

"Don't you want me? I-I want you! You said, you'd help me!"

"I do want you! More than you will ever realize, but I-" He halted but slowly his servos came up and removed the yellow digits from his helm and held them tightly between their chassis, forcing the words out even though each one cut through his spark like a sharp blade. "-I will not interface with you. Not while you're like this, not while you're carrying another mech's sparkling."

"… why?" he asked quietly, his words registering in his processor, words that were making his spark hurt. "Why?" he demanded louder, struggling in his grip but the ninja refused to let go. "Why?! Y-You said you'd help me! You were willing to do whatever it took to help me! So why now!? Why are you stopping!? Why!?"

"It was a mistake! I never should have done anything to you! Yes, I'm willing to help you in any way I can but not like this! I absolutely refuse to frag anybot who wants to act like some mindless pleasure drone!" There was a reason the Cyber Ninja kept quiet, why even in anger he chose to hide away instead of opening his mouth plates least he say something he never meant to say. That was the case now for as soon as the words were out he instantly regretted it, especially when he saw the hurt look in Bumblebee's optics. This time, when he pulled away from him he let him go, scrambling to his peds, trembling. "Bum-" He didn't bother to answer, instead he quickly transformed and with a sharp squeal of his tires he was gone. "Bumblebee!" he continued to call out for him, even tried his comm link but he was brutally shut down. "I'm sorry!" he shouted as loud as he could, even as he forced himself to his peds but he just stood there, wincing at the sharp pain in his chassis. "… I'm sorry…"

* * *

Optimus let out a weary sounding groan as he sat back in his seat. Construction was slowly but surely beginning to happen on Dinobot Island; after finding a suitable cave that was structurally sound the Autobots were turning it into a suitable home for Bumblebee and his sparkling. Bulkhead had suggested support beams to be added, something he had learned from his brief time with the Constructicons, to keep the cave from collapsing down on the scout. He had also suggested a flat-screen TV which would double as entertainment and a communication hub when needed. Sari had brought up wanting to buy her best friend a gaming console so he wouldn't be bored. The seekers helped by bringing on needed items such as a berth and items from the scout's quarters so he would be bored. They also wanted an opening in the ceiling so it would easier for them to come in and visit him at will, which also doubled as an escape route if needed. Ratchet and Skyfire were making sure there were medical supplies and equipment for when the time came for the delivery of the sparkling. Psyche was there to keep the Dinobots occupied and had her servos full: every time something new came to their island there were a dozen questions about it and its purpose. The one good thing was that Jetstorm and Jetfire came by to help but mostly kept the Dinobots entertained. He have just gone over an list of supplies and items needed for the continued construction and made a note to it to pass to their human ally. Dr. Isaac Sumdac was a bit absent-minded, but he was there to help them with their needs and when his daughter told him about the newest addition, he was happy to help in whatever ways he could.

 _'_ _So far there hasn't been any movement from the Decepticons, I can't help but worry about that,'_ he thought to himself. Ever since the last botnapping attempt there had been no signs of any of the 'Cons, new or old. Sure he and his team still had to deal with the criminals such as the Angry Archer and Professor Princess, but they weren't Megatron. _'Perhaps, I should alert Ultra Magnus to our situation.'_ Before he could dwell on it any longer his audio receivers picked up on a vehicle approaching the factory. Fast. Frowning he got up from his seat just in time to watch a yellow compact come racing into view, nearly running into one of the assembly lines before screeching to a halt. He was already running to the car as it transformed and caught the smaller mech before he could collapse.

"Bumblebee! Are you alright? What happened?" he asked in rapid succession. He was already fearing the worse, thinking that another attempt had been made and was prepared to call everyone back immediately but a quiet sob made him halt. He looked down at the minibot and realized he was trembling, yes, but he was also crying. "Bumblebee?"

"O-O-Opti- *ktch* -mus…" he clung to the strong servos holding him up and let loose the sobs. As much as he wanted to tell him what had happened, what hurtful words were said, he couldn't. He just wanted somebot to comfort him, to say he wasn't some mindless pleasure drone. Every time he opened his mouth plates to say something it was mostly static and soft ktch sounds. Primus, he couldn't even tell his commanding officer what was wrong! It made him even more depressed and he sobbed even harder, feeling his stabilizers give out from under him.

The Prime's optics widen when he felt the scout begin to fall and immediately swept him up into his arms, holding him tightly against his chassis. He quickly headed to his quarters since they were closer, ready to send an emergency comm to Ratchet when he received one from Prowl. As soon as he opened it he was bombarded with questions.

 **~Optimus! I lost track of Bumblebee! Has he tried to contact you!?~**

 **~He's here with me right now, he just arrived,~** he answered back, walking into his room and setting the scout on his berth. Checking him over he was relieved that he didn't have any injuries on him but he was still in distress. **:What happened? Ever since he arrived he won't stop crying.~**

There was silence on the other line.

 **~Prowl. What happened?~**

 **~… Bumblebee, asked for my help. I refused and I said something rather hurtful to him. I swear I didn't mean it but he took off before I could apologize. Prime, I… I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt him.~**

 **~Well you did. Go patrol the city while I try and calm him down,~** he snapped and gently touched Bumblebee's shoulder. He barely registered the ninja acknowledging his order, closing his end of the link as the scout looked up at him with sorrowful optics before reaching out and wrapping his arms around his waist, burying his faceplates into his red chassis and continued crying. Venting softly Optimus wrapped his own arms around him, his servo coming up and gently stroking the back of his yellow helm. "Everything's going to be alright, Bumblebee, I promise," he said softly.

 _'_ _I wish I could believe that,'_ he thought to himself but at least the Prime wasn't pushing him away. After a breem or two he managed to stop the sobs and pulled back long enough to look up, offering the taller mech a weak smile. "T-Thanks, boss bot. Didn't me-mean to cry like that-at," he said softly, wincing at the roughness in his vocalizer.

"Don't worry about it, it sounds like you needed it." Pulling away just enough he sat next to him on the berth and paused a moment before speaking up. "Prowl just commed me, he said he told you something hurtful which caused you to run away. Is that true?"

"… yes," he whispered and stared down at his lap, cringing when he saw he still had some trace of lubricant between his stabilizers but at least his panel had closed on its own. "I s-suppose, you want to know th-the rest?"

"Only if you want to." Once more his servo came up and rubbed his helm, one of his digits brushing along the base of one of his horns and smiling softly as he leaned into him. The carrier didn't want to, but he found himself telling the Prime everything from the moment they left the factory, to the drive about town, up to the point where he felt the heat start to take over. He explained how he had driven to an parking lot under construction and was trying to relieve the heat himself when Prowl found him.

"I-I don't know what happened, but I remember begging him to help me. So… he did." Even talking about it he could feel the familiar heat returning and he pressed his stabilizers together as tightly as he could. He was fumbling over his words as he explained just how the Cyber Ninja had helped him, and what it ultimately led to, both the good and the bad. "He-He said, he regre-gretted it. He practically called me a-a-a pleasure drone! I can't help this-s!" he stuttered slightly, feeling the sobs ready to rack his frame and pull him back down into a spiraling depression. "I-I told hi-im to leave-leave me alone! He did-didn't! He said he-he wanted to hel-hel-hel-"

"Help you." He nodded and Optimus vented heavily, now stroking the yellow backplates, listening to him vent brokenly. That would explain why the ninja sounded apologetic, but a dark vocalizer in his processor was bringing up the ninja wasn't able to bring completion to the carrier. Even now as he rubbed at the plating he could feel how warm he was becoming and it made him moan inwardly. "Bee… I, have to ask you something."

His vented stalled as he managed to choke back a sob and nodded. "Y-Yeah?" He tried not to lean into the blue servo but it felt really good.

"… are you still feeling, you know." It was embarrassing to ask but that same dark little voice was cackling as the deep blush gracing the minibot's faceplates. "I see." Slowly he slipped off the berth, sliding his servo from his plating. He tried not to smirk at the whine of loss but he stepped in front of him and reached out, using a digit under his chin to tilt his faceplates up. The blush was a lovely shade of red, making his optics stand out even more. Bee didn't stop him as his digit brushed over his lip plate, didn't say anything as he leaned down, and didn't pull back as he was kissed. Instead, he kissed the Prime back, leaning into him and moaning softly as he felt a glossia slip inside, rubbing against his own. He felt large servos touching him, starting at his shoulder joints then slowly moving down his sides before coming to rest at his hips, trying to slip thick digits between gaps to stroke at the sensitive wires. It wasn't enough and the scout was growing anxious, whimpering in want and trying to pull him down but he refused.

"B-Boss bot… please… want you, now," he panted, fans once more running hard in an attempt to contain his rising heat. "Please…!"

"You have no idea how long I wished to hear you say that to me," he whispered just as hotly and once more kissed him, sealing their lips together.

 _ *** Due to the graphic nature of the chapter, I have complied with FF's NC17 ban and removed portion. If you are interested in reading the unedited chapter you may do so at my AO3 account. Thank you. ***_

Instead of feeling good and sated it felt painful and empty. He was dimly aware of the servos leaving his servos and his spike. It hurt but he felt the bruised protoflesh retract and snapped the housing close but the Prime didn't care. His optics shuddered online when he felt those same rough servos groping at his chassis and it took him a klik or two to realize he was trying to open his chassis. "N-No… Opti-mus, please… s-stop…"

"You should be carrying my sparkling, not some defective seeker!" he snarled angrily, possessive. It didn't matter if his digits were too big, he forced them into the seams and nearly ripped the plating open but when he tried to get the protomesh to open it refused and he heard the audile click of latches sealing it. Nothing short of completely tearing it open would get him to reveal his spark but he tried and he didn't care that he was hurting the scout. "Open it, right now!" he bellowed.

"No!" He meant what he said, no one was going to take his sparkling away from him, and if he had to he would kill to protect her. Even with his servos bound their wordlessly transformed into stingers, and he thrust them forward to the Prime's chassis. Sadly, he didn't allow them to charge fully and his energy levels were low from earlier and trying to fight him off, as well as an overload, all it did was enrage him. He scrambling to send out an emergency comm to anyone and everyone he could think of but large blue servos wrapped around his throat, squeezing tight enough that he felt his energon cable being blocked. His stingers transformed back into his servos and he tried grabbing at the thick digits but the Prime squeezed even tighter, looming over him like a nightmare come to life.

"I am tired of waiting, tired of seeing you give yourself to everybot except me. I will have you and once I rip that sparkling away, I will make certain you carry mine," he snarled, his optics glowing so brightly they looked like the fiery fury straight from the Pitt. "You. Belong. To. Me."

"O-Op-ti-mus- *wheeze* -p-please!" Bee managed to force out but without the proper energon flow he could feel his processor begin to lag, error messages and warning filling his display. His spark was vibrating beneath his chassis and the fear that he was going to die and take his sparkling with him terrified him.

"Don't call me that!" he snapped angrily and leaned down, his enraged faceplates glaring down as the terrified ones below him. "Call me, Nemesis."

Before this, if anyone asked Bumblebee who he feared above anyone else, he would have joking said Sentinel but admit that he feared Megatron above all else. But the tyrannical warlord seemed like an immature youngling compared to the Prime above him, the one who demanded he be called Nemesis. He struggled to get away, to relieve the crushing pressure on his throat cables but it was no use. _'P-Prowl… S-Starsc-cream… Pri-Primus… any-bot… help me!'_ he silently prayed. _'I-I don't want to die!'_

~ To be continued… ~

 **Author's Notes:** Um… so I'm sure a lot of you are probably hating me right now. And I get it! I'm making sweet little Bee suffer after all the slag I put him through so why continue? (rubs head) I'm a glitch? I promise to have the next chapter up soon so please don't kill me! (runs and hides in own closet, barricading the door from the inside) Leave a review if you don't mind!


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** I'm gonna make this real quick: sorry for taking so long with the update! Work has been crazy and as much as I would love to take my laptop with me when I travel, it's too heavy to lug around. Hopefully my next chapter won't take as long but just to let you know I haven't forgotten about this or my other story! So please read on, and leave a comment when you're done!

Prowl: 12

Starscream: 10

Optimus Prime: 2

Other: 5 (Bulkhead: 1, Skywarp: 3)

 **"** **Comm link."**

 **~Private comm link.~**

 _:Seekers speaking.:_

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

The Earth's team Prime could only stare at his servos, trying to think about what he had just done, who he had nearly killed. He couldn't believe it, but in the back of his processor he could feel the dark little voice lurking, waiting for another opportunity.

 _'_ _Admit it, Prime. You enjoyed taking that minibot as your own,'_ he purred darkly.

"No, I didn't. He-He asked for my help, and I hurt him," he whispered lowly.

 _'_ _Perhaps… but you heard him. He likes it rough and hard. Remember?'_ He replayed the clips and felt his backstrut stiffen, cooling fans kicking on. _'He was enjoying it so much! The perks of being a Prime.'_

He couldn't lie and say he didn't enjoy it, feeling him respond to his touch, but all too soon everything turned dark and the next thing he was aware was the look of his terrified optics staring up at him, vents trying to cycle air, his EM field projected a great deal of distress and fear. Fear of him. "You hurt him…"

 _'_ _No,_ you _hurt him, you said so yourself. You wanted a taste of what the fragging seeker had and you enjoyed it. Shall I replay the memory-'_

"No!" He jumped off his berth and quickly grabbed his energy axe from its stand, holding it before him as his optics darted around his dark quarters. "I never wanted to hurt him! Bumblebee is my friend!"

 _'_ _A friend? Is that what you mechs are calling it nowadays?'_ the dark voice mocked. _'Do you really think you're alone in this? Haven't you wondered just why those two immature seekers listen and follow that glitch Sentinel? Surely it can't be because his superb leadership skills.'_

"I don't care about that," he growled lowly.

 _'_ _No, you wouldn't. What about your war hero?'_

Now at this Optimus froze and the axe nearly fell from limp digits. "N-No… he, Ultra Magnus would never…"

 _'_ _Oh? Is this from,_ personal _experience?'_ the dark voice chuckled, slowly worming his way deeper into his processor. _'I think I made my point, so I'll leave you alone to process everything. But don't think you've heard the last of me, my dear Prime.'_

"W… who are you…?" the same dark chuckle seemed to fill his audio receivers, and for a moment he thought he could feel someone standing behind him, pressing their frame into his backplates, venting heated air against his neck cables. He whirled, energy axe lighting up but there was no one there.

 _'_ _You should know that already… but call me, Nemesis.'_ And with that he was gone.

As the Prime struggled with his new-found inner demon the carrier was hiding in the only room he felt safe. His processor was running a complete diagnostic but he was terrified to recharge, that the monster that he once knew as his team leader could come after him and finish the job. Whimpering Bumblebee pressed himself into the tree as much as he could, as though hoping the large plant would protect him. He was holding his stabilizers to his chassis tightly, ignoring the warnings that he had low reserves but when he thought about moving his system and frame screamed at him to stop. Still, he shifted and whimpered as he felt energon leak out from behind his panel and it made him cringe.

"I-I gotta-zzz-clean this-zzz-, be-zzzz-ore Prowl comes b-zz-ack," he said to himself but he was afraid to move. He winced when he heard how rough his vocalizer sounded. A servo reached up and carefully touched the damage he felt. Optimus, or the monster that pretended to be him, had come so close to crushing his throat then he stopped. Why?

 _The servos were wrapped so tightly around him, completely blocking energon from running to his processor. Nothing but warnings filled his display and he could feel parts of his system shutting down. He tried to relieve the pressure, at least enough so he could still function but there was an audible crushing sound and he opened his mouth plates to scream but all he heard was a burst of sharp static._

 _"_ _Submit to me, my sweet little Bee, and I will gladly frag you however you desire," the dark mech growled, brushing his lip plates over a cheek ridge then a horn, the gentle ministrations a sharp contrast to the crushing pressure from his servos. "Say yes…"_

 _He would say anything if it meant he would live but he couldn't manage anything save another burst of static, a painful cry escaping. His optics caught the fiery gaze and he watched as they began to lighten until they were the familiar shade of blue he had always known. They looked confused, lost, but when they registered what was happening his servos immediately released him and he was quick to scramble off the berth. There was a wet suction sound as he pulled his spike free, making both mechs flinch at the unnatural sound. Bee's own servos immediately went to his throat as he gasped painfully, vents stuttering as they attempted to cycle air and feeling his processor ache as energon rushed through the bruised cables, making him dizzy. He cried out in pain as he twisted his frame to the side and didn't register he had fallen off the berth until he hit the floor with a dull crash._

 _"_ _B-Bumblebee!" Optimus called out worriedly and rushed to help but was taken back when the scout screamed at him to not touch him, the static making him flinch and his receivers automatically adjusting themselves. He waited and when he saw he was struggling moved closer, kneeling down and gently touched his shoulder. "Bee-"_

 _"_ _N-zzz-o!" he screamed, static louder than before as he violently slapped the servo away then crawled as fast as he could to the far wall. It was obvious he was in pain the way he was cringing, but there was also the trail of fluids leaking from his valve. He was trembling, shaking so badly his armor plating was rattling. One of his servos was clutching at his chassis that was unable to stay closed on its own since the latches were broken. He sat there on his knees, taking a quick look down at himself before using his other servo to force the panel close. Oh it hurt, it was so swollen, closing it would just make it hurt more but he didn't care. It was then he noticed the trail of fluids he had left behind, including the small puddle on the berth._

 _"_ _P-Pri-zz-mus… w-why *ktch*?" he sobbed and let out a low keen of pain, resisting the urge to scream._

 _"…_ _Bee-"_

 _"_ _No! You-zzz-hurt me! You-zzz zz zzzz-my chassis! My-zzzz-ing could have d-zzz! Why?"_

 _What was he going to say, that he wanted it? That he asked him to frag him? Yes, but he didn't ask him to tie him down and have his way with him! He didn't ask him to try and delete his sparkling! He just asked for help and he, he took advantage of it. He hurt the smaller mech when all he wanted to do was show him how much he cared for him. "… I… I don't know…"_

 _He, he didn't know? Bumblebee frowned, and wanted to scream at him, call him every name he could think of but all he could manage was a sound that sounded like nails on a chalkboard followed by random bursts of static. He cringed, gripping his throat but he was certain his vocalizer had been damaged as well. He couldn't scream at him either! His carrier protocols were demanding he find somewhere safe, somewhere the Prime wouldn't come after him and stay there until someone he knew he could trust could find him and help him. He reached out, gripping at whatever he could so he could get to his peds but he stared at the sleek wing that was treated at some sort of trophy, digits reaching out to gently trace the purple insignia. His spark gave a lurch and suddenly, he wished the seeker (even his clones) was here with him. They, they wouldn't hurt him._

 _'_ _S-Starscream…' Hearing movement he whirled and realized the Prime was trying to get closer. He didn't care that he was badly damaged, only that he had to get away from him. He slowly began moving, making sure he never turned his back on him and headed for the door. He blindly pressed at the buttons, trying to unlock the door that as soon as it was open he ran out. He ignored the worried shouts and raced down the hall ducking into the last room on the left. Once inside he immediately locked the door and even blasted the lock so no one could get in or out. He blearily realized it was Prowl's room but he didn't care as he stumbled to the tree and curled up at the base. Only then did he break down, painful sobs raking his frame._

Looking down he pulled the plating off, dropping it to the side he gave the command and the internal latches unlocked, letting his chassis open. His spark was pulsing irregularly but he could barely make out the tiny spark that was his daughter, pressing so firmly against his own it could have been easily missed. He didn't have to reach out to her to know that she was terrified, so terrified she refused to move even as he pressed his servo against the chamber.

"I-zzz-'m sor-zz-ry…" he whispered and shut his optics tightly, seeing the final warning that he was entering emergency stasis before everything started shutting down. His servos continued to clutch at his spark, repeating how sorry he was and wishing for help.

* * *

Prowl didn't dare enter the factory but he had already patrolled the city twice. Granted it wasn't as thorough as he usually did but he was worrying himself out. He had tried to comm Bumblebee once but it was not only ignored it was blocked and he flinched at that. Rightly deserved, he added. So he tried sending one to Optimus but that one went ignored. Thinking he was still mad at him he tried again but this one was also ignored. When he was about to try for a third one he got a response back.

 **~What is it, Prowl?~**

That was strange, the Prime sounded—depressed. **~I-I'm done with my patrols. Is there anything else you'd like me to do?~**

 **~… no. Ratchet just send me a comm link that he and the others are heading back.~**

 **~Oh? Have they finished construction?~**

 **~No, there are some things they are currently lacking but they've done as much as they could for today.~**

 **~I see. And, Bumblebee?~**

There was a heavy moment of silence that did not sit well with the Cyber Ninja before the Prime answered. **~What about him?~**

Okay… **~I've tried sending him a comm but he's blocked me. Is he recharging?~**

 **~… Leave him alone Prowl. After what you did I doubt he'd want to see you anytime soon.~** And on that note he ended the link on his end, making the ninja flinch.

That hurt, but he felt he had deserved that. Bumblebee asked for his help and he was willing to help him, but not like that. And he certainly didn't mean to hurt him. That was the last thing he wanted to do! He vented deeply. Even now he was debating whether to enter the factory or not but the more he paced outside the sooner someone was bound to notice. Steeling his resolve, he drove inside. Entering the main assembly line he transformed and vented softly. Bee wasn't watching TV or anything of the sort, which he was thankful for but he wanted to apologize to him faceplates to faceplates. Venting softly he moved to where the rooms were located, glancing at Prime's closed door he stopped by Bee's but it was closed. Still he moved before it and stood there, debating what he was going to say but even as he lifted hi servo to knock he froze, then let it drop.

 _'_ _Bee, I…'_ Oh what was the point? One of the few times he thought back to his former mentor, Master Yoketron, and wished he was still here so he could ask for his advice. Slowly he moved down the hall, wondering just what was he going to do as he neared his room but was forced to look up when the door didn't open. Frowning, he typed in the code to get in but it wasn't responding. "Strange." He tried it a few more times but it still wasn't responding. Pressing his audio receiver to the door he raised the volume, trying to listen in. There was a very faint noise but he couldn't place where he had heard it before.

Outside a red-violet jet streaked through the skies, heading directly for the skylight it transformed and Starscream dropped to the ground, wings twitching so much they were nearly vibrating. Something was wrong, his spark knew something was wrong with no warning he left the others and took off. Looking around he saw no sign of the carrier and immediately headed for his room. He nearly sent the door off its track as he forced it open, looking around but there was no sign of him and the berth was empty. Pulling out of the room he was prepared to check all of them when he saw the ninja attempting to get his own door open.

"Where is Bumblebee?' he demanded as she stalked towards him, wings bristling.

Shuttering his optics (he had not been startled) Prowl turned to the seeker. "I do not know."

"What do you mean you don't know? You're supposed to be watching him!" He wanted to shake the answer out of him but the ninja went back to look at his door with clear confusion. "What are you doing?"

"My door won't open," he said with a frown, trying to wedge his digits into the seam of the door but he was having no success. He never noticed the way the seeker was staring intently at the door, wings arched. Starscream was silent, his spark giving a painful lurch that made his optics widen. With no warning he shoved the ninja aside and buried his clawed digits into the thin metal. Growling he began pulling, ripping the door completely out of its frame with a sharp shriek of metal being torn.

Optimus came out of his room, growling angrily, ready to yell at whoever was making the noise when he saw something being thrown in his direction. He quickly stepped back into his room, optics wide as the remains of the door went flying by, hitting the wall and creating quite a deep dent. He stood there, frozen before he heard a shout and came running out. "What's wrong!? What happened!?" he demanded, racing down the hall to where the door had been ripped off and entered, only to skid to a halt next to a stunned Cyber Ninja.

The seeker was kneeling in front of the large tree that took up a portion of the room, gently cradling a small frame against his chassis. To the side lay a badly scratched plating that was a very recognizable color. The two Autobots would know the metal anywhere and their thoughts immediately turned to dread.

"Sta-" Prowl began but the seeker glared at him over a wing, optics nearly glowing as he snarled a warning to keep back. The ninja was smart enough to not move any closer, in fact he took a step back but he was trying to see around his frame at the mech in his servos. "Is, is he…?"

"No. But the same cannot be said for the two of you," he growled lowly, slowly standing he made sure to keep his backplates to the glitches he thought he could trust; he pulled the minibot even closer, wanting to open both of their chassis, to press their sparks together and let the tiny life force be comforted by his energies. He was so focused on the carrier, unsure what he could do to save him when he felt a servo on his arm and whirled at the bot it belonged to, snarling like a cornered cougaraider.

Skywarp for once, didn't flinch, his expression slack, frame tense, but his wings were twitching as were the others. They wanted to know what happened but the former SIC couldn't answer them. Instead he looked down at the minibot, wings dropping in a sign of sorrow and regret. The violet seeker said nothing but he slowly reached out, stroking the yellow helm worriedly.

"What the slag is going on here?!" No one bothered to tell Ratchet to keep his vocalizer down, he did what he damn well pleased and right now he was demanding answers. He ignored the quiet seekers, pushing his way past them to where they were standing but as Starscream turned to face him he felt his optics widen and faceplates pale. "Kid-" He ran towards them and immediately began running a scan but he uttered a few choice words angrily and placed his servo on the bared chassis, unable to feel or hear the pulse of his spark.

"Please…" The medbot looked up at the dark gray faceplates of the seeker even as he continued running scans over the too quiet form. "Save them both…"

"… No one is offlining on my watch," he vowed and quietly held his servos out; clawed servos tensed, one of the wings twitched outward, a clear sign of hesitation. "I need to treat him, before it's too late." The seeker still seemed unsure, but slowly he passed the minibot to the medic. Nodding Ratchet quickly turned and made his way out of the room, ignoring everything around him as he headed straight for his medbay. He heard peds behind him, following him into the medbay but he didn't care about that right now. Thankfully, the CMO was very aggressive in keeping the examination room clean, neat, and orderly. He could not waste time looking for something and he sure as the Pitt not going to risk any infection with his patients. Setting the scout on the berth he turned to grab the cart full of tools only to see it at his side. He looked up in surprise as the bright red options of the mech that would just not shut his mouth plates for an astrosecond.

"You can save him," Sunstorm said, no hint of flattery in his vocalization, it seemed more of a demand.

"Have yet to have a bot die on in my medbay," he said calmly but as he picked up a tool he found the manual latches that kept the minibot's bared chassis close and managed to get them open. The plates moved slowly, which made him frown but peering at the spark he locked away his emotions, focusing on his training and experiences to handle this.

The soft blue spark was pulsing irregularly, the energy fluxed outward but it immediately pulled back, as though it was trying to boot up his system but wanted to protect the spark at the same time. Or in this case, the sparkling. The tiny white light was hiding behind the larger spark and even though the CMO knew what he was looking for, he still missed it. He tried running a scan as he reached out towards the chamber with his tool, hoping he could try and stabilize the energies there was a very loud crackle of energy followed by a loud snap and the medic pulled his singed servo back, hissing loudly.

"Sonofa-!" he growled, looking at his digits. The excess energy lashed out once it sensed him, the current running angrily over the bared chassis. Gears whined as they tried to close the plates but when the medic had manually opened them he had also locked them in place. Bumblebee let out a low whimper of pain but he was too low on energy to even attempt to wake up.

"What happened?" Sunstorm asked even as Skywarp moved to the other side of the berth and calmly rested his servo on the carrier's helm, one of his digits stroking a curved horn.

"His system is trying to reject me, it thinks I'm trying to harm the sparkling," he grumbled as he reset the sensors in his servo. It still stung but he couldn't shut up the sensors in them, he needed his servos to work. "It's too much energy though, if this keeps up the buildup will destroy the sparkling."

Sunstorm's optics widen but he quickly looked down at carrier. "I can absorb the energy," he said immediately then turned back to the medic. "I can absorb it all and allow you to save him."

"And how are you going to do that? My med bay is already crowded enough as it is and I still need to move around," he hissed, moving to the other side of the berth, grabbing an extra tool or component. The seekers didn't say anything but he heard movement. Grumbling Ratchet grabbed what he was looking for and when he turned to face them he was prepared to start yelling at his unwanted guests. The yellow gold seeker was sitting at the head of the berth, his stabilizers hanging off either side, the yellow scout's helm and shoulders resting on his lap, still looking in pain but Ratchet watched as the clawed servos hovered over the spark chamber. Sure enough the energy lashed out, the same it did to him, but unlike him the sleek mech didn't pull back and his servos seemed to glow as it absorbed the energy. It took a few kliks but the excess energy was no longer damaging the spark itself. "How long can you contain it?"

"Never tried to hold it in, I end up releasing it in a bright light," he admitted but moved his servos to either side of the singed chamber, ready to absorb any more energy if he had to.

"Don't release it in here, I can't work if I can't see," he said and began to look at the spark. He ran every type of scan he had available, filing the diagnosis away to be reviewed later. He had almost forgotten about the other seeker until he tried reaching for a tool just out of reach only to have it placed in his servo. He spared the not-so-cowardly mech a glance before demanding another tool. No words were spoken but he moved swiftly. The spark was beginning to settle, the energy flowing slowly, sluggishly, but the sparkling refused to orbit.

"Why is she hiding?" Skywarp asked in concern, handing the medic a large needle hooked up to a long, thin tube. Attached to the other end was a medical grade energon specifically made for bots who suffered a great loss of energy, where he hung it off a hook so it could drip down.

"I don't treat sparklings, but if I had to guess she's terrified," he mumbled, having taken one of Bee's arms he removed the plating and finding a fuel line opened the tiny port and pushed the needle in. As the medical grade began flowing he wrapped something Sari called "duct tape" around it to hold it in place. Very strange name for the strong adhesive but it worked very well and it wasn't as messy as say welding the needle in place. "The kid's spark is trying to protect her, but he was doing more harm than good."

"And now?"

"Beats me, but as long as his spark doesn't collapse on me or the sparkling for that matter, I'll count this as a good thing." He didn't remove the tool from the chassis just yet, wanting to keep an eye on the spark but before he could go to Bee's interface panel he heard the golden seeker hiss and glanced up.

Sunstorm wasn't used to holding the energy for this long. Yes he could absorb it from his opponents, and redirected it in a bright flash of light, temporarily blinding them, this was pure spark energy mixed with the carrier's electrical charge. It was beginning to get to be too much. "I-I can't-!" he hissed, wings snapping up and down his back plates, showing just how much strain it was beginning to wear on him.

"Get him out!" Ratchet ordered but Skywarp had already lifted Bumblebee so his brother could slip off the berth then after carefully laying Bee back down, helped Sunstorm out of the room, both of them passing an angry/worried Psyche. She barely gave them a glance as she entered the medbay and immediately went to Bee's side, looking down at his spark.

"Primus… you're suppose to be safe here," she whispered, gently stroking his cheek ridges with the back of her digits.

"Psyche, I need your help with his interface equipment." Neither of them wanted to do it, but they had no choice. Making sure the sedatives in the medical grade energon was running through his system they removed the plating and could see damage that he had been fragged badly. The femme's vents cycle a great deal of air through her system before letting it out a slow and even stream.

"I will dismantle them both myself," she muttered lowly.

"Help me first," Ratchet said. He really hated this part of the job but he was determined to save the minibot carrier and once he was certain the speedster wasn't going to offline and take his sparkling with him, he was going to help his friend and do a bit of reformatting himself.

* * *

Just as the chief medical office entered the medbay the seekers tried to follow, their programming dictating to keep an optic on the carrier but Psyche refused to let them in. "Ratchet needs to work on Bumblebee and his sparkling and having an audience is not going to help-hey!" But Skywarp and Sunstorm entered just as the door closed and it turned red, indicating it was locked from the inside. "Primus give me strength," she vented deeply.

Starscream would have preferred if he was in there with the injured scout instead but he could trust his trine mates. He thought he could trust the Autobots, but now he wasn't certain just who he could truly trust. Whirling to face the two responsible he began storming over to the Prime. "You! You were suppose to watch him, keep him safe!"

Optimus said nothing but his optics narrowed dangerously. "Watch how you address me, Decepticon," he growled lowly, surprising some of his team.

"Or what? You were the one mech I thought could be trust-!"

"It was me!" Everyone whirled to look at the ninja, a swirl of emotions as he slowly repeated himself. "It-It was my fault. Bumblebee asked for my help and I, said something I wasn't suppose to. I didn't know this would happen." There was a brief klik of silence that was soon filled with an enraged shriek. The Decepticon nearly lunged at him, claws curled but he never had a chance to attack the stunned ninja.

Shuttle-class mechs like Skyfire were rare but they were still considered seekers; due to the size and mass of their alt modes, they were taller and broader than the others. Being so large they did not lose their natural agility their kind were known for, so it came to no surprise to those that knew him watch him move at the exact moment the red-violet seeker moved to attack the Cyber Ninja, wrapping servos around him and pulling him tightly to his chassis. He ignored the hissing and shrieking, wings nearly vibrating in rage and the way the clawed servos dug furrows in his arms .

"I believe you should calm down before you do something you will regret," the white shuttle said and without losing his pace walked down the side exit the Autobots used to leave their factory, ignoring the curses and insults hurled his way.

"Let me go, you giant glitch! I'll rip his spark out through his exhaust port!"

"Bulkhead, would you, Jetstorm, and Jetfire please get them some oil?" Psyche offered as she nodded to the seekers who were unsure what to do themselves. "I really think we could use a drink right now,

"Huh? Oh y-yeah, sure…" The green mech didn't seem sure but at least it provided a bit of a distraction. He was worried they would turn and attack him, but they each looked lost and confused, and were more than willing to let him and the twins lead them into the living room. Optimus made to follow but he was halted by a firm command.

"You two, I want some words with you right now," the femme said and immediately pointed to Bumblebee's room with a pointed servo. They halted, looking at her for a quiet klik. "Did I stutter? Move your afts or so help me I will drag you in there myself." Psyche wasn't a large femme, she wasn't designed or built for battle, but the EM she was giving made the two mechs obey her order and shuffle to the room. She followed and once inside closed the door. Arms crossed over her chassis, digits tapping, it was all she could do to keep from pacing but she looked at them each in turn. "Start talking."

Prowl was about to explain what happened but his leader spoke up and once more he was taken back by his attitude. "You have no right to give me orders! I am the Prime and leader of this team! You're not even an Autobot!" he snapped angrily.

"And there's a slagging good reason I stopped being one!" she snapped back. "You two wanted to stay behind and keep an optic on Bumblebee, you even denied having one of the seekers here because you could handle it. So why in the Pitt does Bee look like he's a klik away from offlining and taking his sparkling with him?" She didn't have to scream or yell to get her point across, but the fury was evident in her optics and she wanted answers. Turning to the ninja she gestured to him impatiently. "You. Explain yourself."

Prowl couldn't help but flinch, acting as though he was a youngling who had gotten caught with his servo in the jar of energon goodies when he was told explicitly no. "… It started, when Bumblebee came to me, expressing his desire to get some fresh air. I was uncertain, but agreed," he began. He told her about the drive around the city, how he was calm and even went under the speed limit, enjoying himself before taking off for an parking structure under construction. "I thought perhaps he had noticed a Decepticon in the area but when I came after him he refused my help."

"How so?" she asked with a slight frown. She had taken a seat on Bee's berth, Prowl was sitting on the floor though his stabilizer kept twitching, no doubt reacting to his nerves, and Optimus was leaning against the wall, servos crossed over his chassis with a moody expression.

"He kept saying he was fine, that he needed some time alone, but I wanted to make sure he was alright. So I ended up following him and…" he trailed off and refused to look at either of them. There was an air of tension but the fembot refused to let him go without an answer.

"What did you see, Prowl?"

"… I-I can't say. If he had told me I would have given him all the time he needed! I swear!"

She blinked and slowly straighten. _'He was overcharged.'_ That single thought made her processor halt before running a quick reboot as she vented slowly though it did not escape the Prime's notice. "Okay. But you said you said something to him, something hurtful," she spoke aloud this time. "What was it?"

At this he fell silent and his servos gripped his knee joints, tightening to the point where he was developing several dents courtesy of his own digits. "He was begging me to help him, that he couldn't stop it. I-I didn't want him to think I was taking advantage of him." He halted, not wanting to repeat himself but the gentle prodding from the femme nearly made him flinch. "… I didn't mean it, I swear it."

"Prowl, what did you say?"

 _'_ _Slag it all,'_ he muttered to himself but took a deep cycle of air. "I told him, it had been a mistake helping him, I should have never done it. That I absolutely refuse to frag anybot who acts like some mindless pleasure drone." There was a sudden current in the air, an electrical charge that threaten to ignite. He watched with wide optics as Psyche slowly stood, looking at him with such cold, unfeeling optics. He found his vents stalling the longer she looked at him before abruptly turning away. Scrambling to his peds he watched as she headed for the door and opened it before finding the strength to call out to her. "P-Psyche! I swear, I never meant to hurt him!"

"It's done, Prowl. If Bumblebee and his sparkling manage to survive, you can apologize to him yourself." She pressed the buttons on the panel with a bit more force than necessary, breaking a few of the buttons but she didn't care. She felt so charged right now she wanted to hit something. Hard. Very, very, _very_ hard. With both her energy-charged hammers at once. Walking down the hall she froze when she heard the door to the medbay open and watched as Skywarp walked out, supporting a twitchy Sunstorm. Part of her wanted to go after them and demand to know what they were doing but instead she ducked inside and locked the door behind her. Glancing at the medic she immediately moved to the minibot's side and looked down at his spark worriedly.

"Primus… you're suppose to be safe here," she whispered, gently stroking the side of his faceplates with the back of her digits. He didn't so much as twitch.

Ratchet looked at the small frame, removing the rest of the plating he had to bite his glossia to keep the curses from flowing freely when a rush of fluids escaped, staining the medical berth. "Psyche, I need your help with his interface equipment," he said as he set he plating aside. She just nodded and together the two worked the panel open though it was difficult. Whatever trauma he had experienced locked it into place, making it difficult to work the latches open but when they did they were able to see the external damage. Both medics inhaled sharply but continued working. Ratchet grabbed a tool, a long and slender metal rod with a smooth, rounded tip, it's primary usage to check the damage of internal injuries but he halted. He would have to insert it into the valve directly.

"Ratch?" He looked up and she could see the unease in his optics. He may have been a battle-harden veteran, but not so much that his spark had turned sparkless. Slowly she reached out for the tool. "Let me." He just nodded and stepped back. He couldn't watch as she prepared the probe and in a rare moment of compassion, reached down and rested it on the scout's helm. Luckily he was in such a deep recharge he didn't so much as flinch as the tool was inserted, but as soon as the scanning was complete the tool was immediately removed and Psyche administered a salve that would help reduce the swelling and numb the area. She looked up just as the red and white medic muttered a long stream of curses that made her audio receivers burn. "Ratchet?" He wordlessly passed her the datapad as he went to grab a surgical tool. What she read made her pale then flush in obvious anger, digits squeezing the datapad so hard it started to crack. "I will dismantle them both myself," she muttered lowly, vents cycle a great deal of air through her system before letting it out a slow and even stream.

"Help me first," Ratchet said. He really hated this part of the job but he was determined to save him and once he was certain the speedster wasn't going to offline and take his sparkling with him, he was going to help his friend and do a bit of reformatting himself.

The two worked tirelessly, having no choice but to perform surgery to replace the sensor nodes that had been badly damaged. All of it was noted on Bumblebee's medical datapad, but Ratchet made certain to keep it under high security on a need to know basis. Words were barely spoken and they made sure the medical grade energon kept flowing before finally, after several joors, they were done. They also repaired and replaced some fragile circuitry in his throat, sending a medical coding to increase the self-repair nanites to deal with the bruising and swelling. Psyche was reading the schematics as she made sure that when Bee awoken (on his own) his system wouldn't try and reject the surgery.

"Kid's too young to go through this," Ratchet muttered as he washed his servos aggressively, ignoring the sting of his sensors as he scrubbed too hard. "First he gets botnapped by Starscream, ends up getting tortured then sparked by him, and now this."

"He's a strong mech, I've seen battle-harden soldiers kill themselves right after the sparkling is born," she said absently, swiping a digit across the screen of the datapad. "Thank Primus for soft-sparked bonded who are willing to raise another's sparkling when they hear there's an orphan involved."

That made the medbot pause before turning the water off and grabbing a sterile cloth. "How's it looking?" he asked as he dried his servos. He wanted to ask more about that but seeing the tired look in her optics held it back. He tossed the cloth in the small bin to be washed properly later.

"Slowly. Getting his processor to run a thorough defrag so when he's ready to boot up there should be no errors." Swiping a few more times across the screen she pressed the lock button on the bottom and silently set it down. Looking at the scout she wordlessly tucked the sheet around him before looking up at him. "I think I know who did this, but I need you to verify something first."

He blinked but nodded as he slowly crossed his arms over his chassis. "I know you like to be thorough, but what has that got to do with me?"

"You know these mechs better than I do, I want to know if any of them would ever take advantage of an overcharged carrier." Ratchet would only stare at her, optics wide and mouth plates open in shock.

* * *

Skyfire said nothing as he watched the red-violet seeker pace and rant angrily. He was prepared to follow him in case he took off but his thrusters were silent. However, he did pause now and then to glare at him. Or rather, glare at the entrance of the tunnel that led inside the factory. Ever since the shuttle had taken Starscream outside to calm down, he had made sure he didn't go back inside or else there would be two permanently offlined mechs. He stiffened and looked up as he lifted a servo to his receiver. "Yes?"

 **~Skyfire, its Psyche. Is Starscream with you?~** she asked.

"Yes, he's right here."

"Who are you talking to?" the seeker demanded with narrowed optics but the larger seeker merely held up his servo for him to be quiet.

 **~Good. Tell him Bumblebee and the sparkling are alright, they're resting but he can see them later when Bee has fully rested.~**

"Blessed Primus… that's very good to hear," he smiled. He had been worried but even now in the back of his processor he could not forget someone had hurt him very badly. He was able to control it but he still had a strong urge to rip the still pulsing spark from the slagger and crush it before his optics. "Is there anything you need me to do?"

 **~No. Ratch is telling the others and I'm with Bee right now.~** There was a moment of pause before she continued. **~No, you can do something. Make sure everyone keeps quiet. Bee needs a lot of rest and I don't him to wake up until he's ready.~**

"Alright. Please let me know if you need anything else." Removing his servo he nodded to the seeker who was looking at him with such intensity. "Ratchet and Psyche have finished with Bumblebee's surgery, he and the sparkling will be fine."

"Fine? Fine?! How are they fine?!" he shrieked at him, wing tips trembling, frame tense, clawed digits clenching and unclenching. "I trusted those—glitches to keep them safe and look what happened to him! I should have been the one to stay here and watch over him! I am the sparkling's creator!"

"What happened is inexcusable, but the important thing is they are both safe. Construction on Dinobot Island is nearly complete and Bumblebee will be safer with the Dinobots-"

"I trust those walking abominations as much as I trust you," he seethed angrily but from what little he knew of them, they were indeed very strong, their frames built for heavy warfare, but their processors were extremely limited. They could only obey the simplest of commands and even then the "leader" Grimlock, sought to challenge everybot who told him to do something. It was enough to drive anyone mad! Intaking a great deal of air he vented it slowly, feeling some of his rage dispatch but he calmly walked up to the shuttle and looked up at him. "Listen well, shuttle. Right now, Bumblebee and the sparkling are the only beings that matter to me, and I do not care about who is the leader of what but those Autobots have failed in my optics. I do not trust them, I will never trust them, and as soon as construction is finish I refuse for any of them near them. You," he jabbed a digit into his abdominal plating harshly since the mech was so much taller than him, "will pass this message to them. Until I say otherwise they will not be allowed anywhere near my-them."

"They are the closest thing he has to a family unit, denying him from seeing them will bring about undue stress and strain any form of relationship he has already developed with you," Skyfire said calmly. It was on the tip of his glossia to point out he had betrayed the minibot's trust when he kidnapped him and manipulated him to begin with, and while he believed he could subdue the aerial fighter if he chose to attack him, he did not want to bring everybot into it as well.

Red optics narrowed dangerously and the clawed digit poked harder, scratching the plating. "After what happened do you really think he's going to want anything to do with them!?" he hissed angrily. There was a tense silence but slowly, the seeker moved back, the silent hum of his thrusters warming up was heard, wings tense as he clenched his servos into fists. "I will speak with Bee about it later when I speak with him but as of right now, I will not trust any Autobot who claims to be a friend. They have proven to be worse than the Decepticons themselves. And the next time you try to stop me, I'll rip your wings off myself." Launching himself into the sky, the mech transformed and soon the sleek jet was flying off, closing off his comm links with his trine. If he wanted to talk to the carrier he had to calm down first.

Normally when Starscream had time to fly, he enjoyed it. For all the organic life this pitiful planet held, here the skies were open and even welcoming. It reminded him so much of his beloved Vos, he would have no doubt felt what the organics called "homesick" but for that he would need a home. Vos was no more, and even if it was still standing no seeker would be allowed to reside there. Afterall, only Decepticons could fly.

 _'_ _Autofools! They preach about unity and fighting for the greater good, bah! They are just as bad as the Decepticons! In the end everybot in this war fights to gain more power for themselves!'_ he thought bitterly. He was no different, but that was before he had a greater reason to fight for. How long had it been since there had been a sparkling created? None that he could think of or remember for that matter, and yet he was the creator of one. Frowning he threw himself in performing some aerial tricks high above the clouds, feeling the winds brushing over the sensors in his wings, enjoying the pleasant sensations. Would Bumblebee enjoy it if he took him flying one day? Would he trust him not to drop him? Would their sparkling be a seeker, just like him like Bee had dreamed? It was enough to almost make him giddy with delight! Well, if he allowed himself to feel such a strange emotion. Nonetheless he was determined to do all he could for them; the AllSpark fragment did much more than grant him repeated rebirths, it granted him the one thing he had always wished for since the death of his own carrier.

Cyclonus silently followed after the seeker, high above him. He made certain he didn't notice him, keeping his energy signal tightly to his frame, and that his shadow cast by the planet's star didn't give him away but the seeker seemed completely lost in his own world. No matter, he had a mission to complete. Making certain they were the only ones in the skies he increased his thrusters and performed a tight barrel roll, purposely cutting in front of the seeker. Hearing him let out a squawk of surprise may been mildly amusing, but it had the effect he was looking for.

"Get back here, you flying glitch!" the seeker shrieked as he activated his own thrusters and chased after him. For an irritating moment he thought it was been the giant aft or the two annoying jets, but not only was the coloring completely wrong, the entire framework was one he had certainly never seen on this primitive planet. That's when his processor supplied him with an image of the last time he had seen this "plane" before. With a scream worthy of his name, he immediately began firing at the gray-violet mech, focusing his rage at him. He refused to contact the Autobots and ignored his logic system to call upon the other seekers for back-up. If he was going to destroy something it would be him.

The purple-gray jet didn't bother to fight back but he made sure the seeker was following. When he saw him falter he resorted to immature tactics but it had the desired effect. Once they were far enough away that he could no longer detect any organic life, he smirked and allowed the energy to build. He waited until the traitor was close enough before he transformed in mind air and turning to face him, unleashed his two dark swords and released a burst of dark light.

Starscream cried out in pain, the light not only blinding him but he also felt some of his frame and even his internal circuitry becoming corrosive, as though it was being eaten by some unknown source. He tried to fight it off, cursing as one of his thrusters sputtered out. With only one working thruster he couldn't keep himself in the air for much longer. Cursing the jet, to Megatron, to Primus and Unicron, to the Autobots, and back to Megatron and Cyclonus he began flying lower. The problem was now his gyro-inhibitors were glitching, meaning he was pretty much going to try landing blind. Uttering another curse he tried to gauge how close he was getting to the ground, the flaps on his wings angling themselves to try and slow his descent and it might have worked, had Cyclonus not decided to help him land in a rather undignified heap. Letting out another embarrassing squawk of surprise he landed nose first into the unforgiving ground, skidding along painfully, scratching up his frame, cracking the faux glass of his cockpit, he forced himself to transform and regretted it as he felt dirt get into his transformation seams but he was able to dig his servos into the soft ground and finally (finally!) stopped skidding. Snarling he made to get to his peds but froze as the sunlight glinted off the dark-colored swords. Cyclonus said nothing but after a bit he pulled back and sheathed the swords behind him.

"What, you too cowardly to offline me?" he sneered as he slowly got to his peds, ignoring the grit and resisting the urge to shake his stabilizers to try and dislodge some of the organic material. Ugh, it was a terrible sensation and he hated it! He tensed as he saw the other jet reaching into his subspace and his arm-mounted guns warmed up but before he could open fire he tossed something at him and on instinct, caught it. "What in the name of the Pitt is this?" he demanded.

"I would think even with your limited processor you would know what a tachyon mini-communicator is," he said in an even tone, his entire frame still, not relaxed but not tense, as though he was in stand-by mode.

"I know what it is, you aft! Why would I need it?!" he snapped, ready to crush it in his servo.

"I also bring you a message from Lord Megatron so may I suggest you do not destroy it should you wish to keep your sparkmate and sparkling fully functioning," he said calmly, making the seeker freeze. "He wants you to return to the Decepticons and follow his commands at his second-in-command once more."

"Why would I do something as idiotic as that?" he sneered.

"I do not question orders, I merely follow them." With that, he transformed and without waiting for a reply, fly off. Once he was high enough he activated his thrusters and soon Cyclonus was gone.

Starscream resisted the urge to scream at him to come back, to shattered the mini-communicator in his servo but after glaring at the insignia for several long, very tense kliks, he turned it on. Fortunately he managed to keep from revealing his shock and rage as the small screen was filled with the faceplates of the last mech he wanted to communicate with. He grinded his denta together but refrained from calling him ever insult he knew in Cybertronium and from overhearing the populace organics on this filthy planet.

"Starscream, I see Cyclonus has completed his mission. I had almost forgotten what it was like to have a _competent_ soldier within my ranks," Megatron smirked.

Whether it was meant to bait him the seeker wasn't sure, but he couldn't stop himself from giving him a sarcastic response back. "If you find him so worthy why not make _him_ your SIC instead."

"What I do with my army is my business, alone. Regardless of what has transpired, my ultimate plan to overthrowing the Autobot High Council and taking my rightful place as the ruler of Cybertron has not diminished in the least. You have betrayed me countless times and have tried—and failed—to overthrow me in order to become the new leader of the Decepticons, for that you should be smelted down-"

"I've lost count how many times you "offlined" me only for me to return a few joors later," he muttered, letting a little bit of smug pride color his vocalizer.

"-but, despite that you still have your usefulness that I am currently lacking," he continued, no doubt ignoring his words and causing the seeker to growl lowly but otherwise kept quiet. "Therefore, I am offering you an opportunity to return to your true prime directive."

"I was wondering if those fifty stellar cycles stuck in stasis affected your processor, why would I ever return and be your SIC? You never listened to me, always taking the glory for _my_ plans, making me look like a fool in front of your "army". I should not only be the leader of the Decepticons, I should be the ruler of Cybertron as well!" if he was the ruler, then he would ensure that Bumblebee and their sparkling would lead the perfect lifecycle, where they would never be harmed and want for nothing. He was prepared to turn off the communicator until the large gray mech spoke up once more.

"There is more to ruling an entire planet than you know, and in the brief kliks when you elected yourself to lead the Decepticons in my absence has been nothing but a failure," he stated calmly and the worse part was, he was right. Before Starscream could get too riled up the warlord continued talking. "You may join me willingly, or by force. If you chose force then I will make you witness not only the permanently demise of your sparkling, but I will ensure that your carrier is still functioning to carry my own. Perhaps, I will even keep him as my own berth slave," he smirked. Starscream was silent, his processor stalled, optics wide. Seeing that the seeker was no doubt froze the warlord decided to end his dealings for now. "I expect an answer in one orbital cycle. If I have not received an answer by then, I will take that as your refusal and your minibot will be mine." The connection closed and the screen went dark but Starscream continued to stare at the communicator for almost a joor before slowly lowering it and remained standing there for another joor. He had no doubt that Megatron would go through with his threat, and while the Dinobots were powerful mechs, they were idiots and he doubted they would be able to properly protect the carrier and sparkling. He could feel his servo tightening, heard the communicator crack but stopped himself from outright destroying it.

Two orns. Twenty-six solar cycles. Unbiddingly his chronometer had begun a countdown and it made him flinch to realize how quickly it was passing by. He felt torn, unsure how to answer but even as he quietly subspaced the communicator and transformed, taking to the air, he knew he would do anything to protect his family unit. Casting a quick scan to make sure he wasn't being followed, he flew back to the factory. If he wanted to see Bumblebee, he wanted to make sure he was clean of the organic filth.

* * *

As the red-violet seeker was flying back, Bumblebee was finishing up his recharge cycle. Waking from recharge was, at times, a hassle. The processor was the first to boot up, humming to life, warming up it ran through every program, system check, antivirus, and firewall. Everything was coming back with a green-light, showing that everything was in working order. His system did bring up several new changes to his system to be reviewed but it was still showing as green.

 _'_ _That's strange,'_ the minibot thought to himself but allowed the scans to continue. The warmth of the startup began to spread through the rest of his system, slowly onlining his functions on by one. Once it was complete he continued to lay there and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the room. He knew he wasn't in his room, the berth wasn't the same and the sterile cleaning solvent he associated with the medbay was pretty strong. He was startled when he heard a voice speak up loudly but familiar and gentle digits brushed over his helm in a loving manner. He didn't have to open his optics to know who it was, making him smile gently. "Hi Psyche…" he spoke slowly, wincing when his vocalizer reminded him of gears grinding together. It didn't hurt, but it was really uncomfortable.

"Hi Bee, we fixed your throat cables but for the next mega-cycle I want you to talk to my through your comm link," she smiled and continued stroking his helm, brushing a digit over a cheek ridge. Slowly pulling her servo back she watched as his optics opened then onlined. She had been worried when she heard the gentle hum of his system starting up and got up, only to nearly trip from the stool she had been perched on, making her curse. "How do you feel?"

 **"** **Good, I think."** He looked around, verifying he was in the medbay and sighed softly, fans whirling. Looking at the fembot questioningly she produced a slightly cracked datapad and handed it to him. He took it slowly (just now aware his plating had been removed and he was in his bared protoform beneath a sheet) and read the information. It was his medical file, and it listed all his injuries, as well as his recent surgery. He slowly lowered the datapad and realized why his system notified him of new changes. **"Why?"**

"Sadly, your sensors nodes were badly damaged, and these same nodes had scarred over from what I guess was earlier abuse. If we had left them, it would have at least made interfacing very unpleasant and at worse, would have ruined your sensory network." Slowly she reached over and covered his servo with her own, squeezing it tightly. "We had to act quickly, you were in complete stasis lock."

 **"** **Stasis lock…"** he couldn't remember falling into that, the last thing he remembered was hiding in Prowl's room, trying to calm his racing spark—oh frag. **"… Y-You know, then…"**

"I know the end result, and the beginning of what lead up to it, but not the plot." She could feel him tense so without releasing his servo reached out to grab the stool and pulled it up before sitting down. "I said it once, I'll say it again. Whatever you tell me will not be repeated, nor shared. If you want to go to Torkulon, then we'll leave right now, no questions asked."

"…" He knew he could trust her, she had been nothing but helpful, keeping his secret until he was ready to tell everybot else. **"I didn't mean for it to happen, I was enjoying the drive and so was my sparkling, but then I got so hot. I thought, maybe it was too much sun but it kept building and I just wanted a really good frag…"** Primus, even talking about it he winced. Had he really sounded that desperate?

"It's been known to happen to carriers, the energy a developing sparkling produces can lead to a carrier experiencing a overcharge and a need to release it. Sometimes it even has the opposite effect and makes the carrier reject interfacing, even the gentlest of touching makes them recoil as though they've been struck," she pointed out. "I've seen it before, but I've mostly seen it between bonded creators."

 **"** **But, I'm not bonded."**

"No, you aren't." letting out a short burst of air she took a moment to compose her thought processes. "Starscream manipulated you into thinking he cared about you, and maybe he does now, but deep down in your logic circuits you're still wary and afraid he'll hurt you again. You asked Prowl for help because deep down, you trusted to help you. He has been with you since the beginning, he cares about you and I know you care about him."

 **"** **But… but he rejected me,"** Bee whispered, clutching at the sheet tightly. **"H-he said, he called me a-a mindless-s pleasure dr-drone,"** he stuttered softly.

"Did he really call you a drone?" She paused when she saw the confusion in his optics and waited as he slowly and carefully sat up. "I spoke with Prowl earlier, and he mentioned he said some hurtful words but I need _you_ to remember, did he specifically call _you_ a mindless pleasure drone?"

 **"… … …** **n-no,"** he said after several kliks, replaying the hurtful words over and over. He could feel sobs creeping up on him that by the time he realized it it was too late to stop them. **"H-He said, he *ktch* he wanted-ed to help me-e-e, he *ktch* did…"** He winced as he saw a servo come up, unsure why he was flinching but the servo gently curled around the back of his helm and pulled him forward until it was pressed into a chassis. He reached out and clung to whatever he could reach, soft sobs raking his small frame.

Psyche cooed quietly into his audio, digits stroking the back of his helm and neck cables, kneading the tension she could feel. Definitely too young to be going through this much slagging drama. "Bee, I can help you with this," she spoke softly. "It's a programming code I can install that's linked to your logistics. The next time you're feeling overcharged, it will keep the charge from affecting your processor and keep the stimuli at bay but it also depends on you, you'll need to decide how you can deal with being overcharged."

 **"** **Y-You mean I wo-won't jump-p any me-me-mech I s-see?"** he stuttered softly with softer ktches.

"In so many words. I could have done it when Ratch and I did the surgery, but I wanted the choice to be yours."

 **"…** **I… I wa-want it,"** he said softly, venting softly as he felt the femme shift until she was sitting behind him, servos wrapped around him in a maternal embrace. It was quiet and once more he felt soothed by the servo as they gently stroked his neck cables and back plates over the sheet. Thinking back to the surgery the realization hit him even harder that what had happened was not another terrible nightmare. **"I'm not s-safe here, not anymo-more,"** he whispered but audio receivers picked it up and servos stilled.

"… it's my fault, Bee," psyche said softly, closing her optics and offlining them in the process. "I thought you would be safe here, I thought nothing would happen. How could I have been so blind?" She was startled when she felt a servo brush over her own cheek plates, a touch she hadn't felt in vorns and looked down into concerned blue optics. "I'm so sorry, sweetspark. This, was never suppose to happen."

 **"** **Not your fault, Psyche, never was."** This time, it was his turn to comfort her.

Psyche ended up staying with Bee until he slipped into another recharge and she took a few breems to watch him quietly. She had been with him for over a megacycle from the moment he woke up to now. No doubt he would have felt better if he recharged in his own quarters but she and Ratchet felt it would better to continue monitoring him and the sparkling. Reaching out she once more brushed the back of her digits over a cheek ridge and smiled when he leaned into her touch with a soft sigh. It reminded her of the few fleeting moments when she felt her creator do the same when he thought she was recharging. It was the few precious memory files she didn't lock away, but it still brought some slight pain to her spark. Venting softly she softly stood and dimmed the lights so he could recharge better, casting him one more look she silently left the medbay. Hearing the door close behind her she looked up and her optics shuttered in surprise at the sight of Starscream standing across from the door, leaning against the wall with his servos crossed over his chassis, his plating exception bright as though he had just cleaned up, looking like he was calmly waiting for her to exit. Which, she was certain he was. He gave her a nod of his helm to which she mirrored before quietly speaking up.

"How are they?" he asked.

"Better. Bee's still resting from his surgery, but his spark has settled into a steady rhythm and the sparkling has continued orbiting his own." She paused to let the words sink in and gestured to the door behind her. "He's staying there so we can continue to monitor them, but he slipped back into recharge once more."

"The shuttle told me. The others are acting on their best behavior as well," he said which explained the almost unnatural quiet surrounding the factory. Pushing himself off the wall he took a few steps away from it. "… may I see him?" If she was surprised by his polite response, she didn't show it.

"I think, he'd appreciate that." She stepped aside and watched as he went to the door, stepping in as it opened but he paused and looked at her from the corner of his optic. He seemed uncertain yet Psyche smiled and nodded to him. "Go on, just be mindful of the equipment."

"… thank you." Turning his attention to the sleeping mech, he walked deeper into the room, the door silently closing behind him. The femme vented softly, reaching up to rub at her optics but she wasn't done as much as she wanted to. After speaking with Bee and hearing his side of the story, she knew who was responsible for hurting him. Ratchet didn't want to believe it, he had worked with the mech for vorns, he knew him, but it didn't deter her in the slightest. She knew he could be stubborn and unyielding in his decision, but so could she and as she pointed out to him, she had studied the inner workings of many processors during her training while he studied the external frames. She was better qualified and she could still be professional about it. Going down the hall she stepped before the door and knocked on it. There was no answer but she knew he was inside so she decided to send him a ping. He ignored the first one so she sent another. He ignored that one as well and she could feel one of her optic ridges twitching so she sent another ping but with an attached message.

 **~I wish to speak with you, preferably without a door between us. If you continue to ignore me I will beat your door down and everybot in the factory will be able to hear what we will be discussing. The choice is yours so choose wisely.~** She didn't have to wait more than a few kliks before the door opened to reveal the red and blue mech on the other side.

"What do you want?" he asked coolly.

"To talk. So are you going to invite me in or do you want everybot to be listening in to our discussion?" She could tell he was tempted to shut the door in her faceplates, but she could always go through with her threat. But she also had to remember this was not Torkulon, and he was still a Prime. Intaking a great deal of air she slowly released it and spoke up with a softer tone. "Optimus, I sense something is wrong and I wish to help. I am a medic, just like Ratchet, but I treat processor-based and spark damage."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked lowly, a flicker of uncertainty in his optics.

"I just said I wish to help." She paused, not wishing to point out she could still contact Cybertron and see about having his rank removed if she thought him unqualified, but that would solve nothing. The mech said nothing but slowly, he stepped back and she took that as an invitation to step in. She waited and watched as he passed her to sit at his console, but she chose to remain standing. She saw some cleaning solution and rags off to the side and the quarters smelled as though he had recently cleaned it but she fought back the urge to yell at him. "Tell me about yourself," she began, surprising him. "I haven't been to Cybertron in a very long time, and Ratchet told me he's worked with you for a long time, but I like to get to know the mechs better myself."

"… you, remind me of a mech I used to know in boot camp," he admitted before letting his optics drop. "I tried to get to know. He said he wasn't there to make friends, and he was always arguing with Sentinel. Doesn't help when Sentinel would say something condescending he was right there to tell him off. I remember trying to stop them from fighting, but neither of them listened to me. Kup Minor would find out and the next thing I knew both were performing transform ups repeatedly. Last I heard, he left the boot camp."

"So he was suspended?"

"Sentinel and Elita thought so, but when I asked Kup Minor he told me it wasn't in his programming so he decided to help bots out another way. I had actually tried looking for him but any record of him had been erased. I guess, Nova didn't want to be found."

"It's been known to happen for a number of reasons," she said and moved closer but remained standing. She could see a bit of the mech Ratchet spoke so fondly about, but she had to know his side of the story. "Optimus, I hate to ask this… but what happened when Bee came back to the factory."

He froze, looking at her with wide optics he slowly looked away, servos twitching ever so slightly. "… I was at the communication center, going over the list of materials and items needed for construction when I heard Be-Bumblebee come racing back. I thought something was wrong, that maybe he had been attacked. He broke down crying and I took him to my quarters to try and get him to calm down."

"Where was Prowl?"

"He commed me, saying he had lost him, I told him he was with me and when he told me he was responsible for making Bumblebee cry I ordered him to continue patrolling the city. I was so mad at him for hurting Bumblebee, I knew I couldn't see him until I calmed down."

The femme nodded that she was listening but gestured for him to continue. Now she felt something was wrong; Ratchet had said that in all the years he knew he the Prime was slow to anger with brief moments, it was quick to cool and with their team he was usually the peacemaker. The medic was the one who did most of the shouting and yelling, and he always had the most concern over everybot. She listened as the Prime told her about him and the carrier speaking, how Bee admitted what Prowl had done and said, and that he was still overcharged. Now he froze but his optics were downcast, his posture tense even though he was still slouched in his chair.

"Optimus?" No answer. "Optimus? You still with me?" Still no answer and Psyche was having a very bad feeling. "… Prime?"

"I fragged the minibot, because he begged me for it. I never thought of him that way, but knowing what the seeker did to him, knowing he needed help, _my_ help! I… I never, meant to hurt him." It had been so very very _very_ long since he had been wanted, and he never gave the minibot another look, but after hearing him and the seeker that night—his servo curled into a tight fist and his optics were slowly bleeding from blue to red. "I am a Prime. I am the leader of this team, I should have had that scout reprimanded for having relations with the enemy, then he ended up being sparked. I should be the one that sparked him! It is my right as a _Prime!_ "

"What?" Where was this coming from? This seemed completely out of character, even his EM field felt like someone else entirely, yet she could detect some truth behind his words. He honestly believed he was within his right to do what he wanted. "A Prime, is more than a leader, Optimus. A Prime must prove he has the skills to not only lead his team into battle and return safely, but to keep the team together. Those who are granted the title of Prime earn it and proudly follow the duties given to them, they never think of their teammates as merely drones to serve them."

"Then what about Sentinel?!" he snapped angrily as he jumped to his peds, advancing on her, optics burning brightly. "He's a Prime and yet he's the most pathetic excuse for a Prime if there ever was one! He took the rank away from me, I should have stayed on Cybertron, not him!"

"But he didn't try to kill an unformed sparkling! He didn't take advantage of a carrier who was caught in the grip of being overcharged!" she yelled back, catching him slightly off-guard. She should have stopped and noticed that something was terribly wrong, but the way he spoke about Bumblebee was inexcusable. He honestly thought of his team as nothing more than sparkles drones there to do his every bidding! "Sentinel may be a giant-chinned aft yet he still became a Prime long before you!"

For a single astrosecond it was quiet, but in the next he lunged forward and slammed into the aqua blue femme, servos wrapped tightly around her neck cables, and began squeezing tightly. He was larger than her in both height and mass, and he had caught her off guard. Psyche tried to pry his digits off but his grip was too tight and the edge of the berth was digging painfully into her backstrut. She tried to call out this time, tried to comm for help, but she winced as she felt fragile circuitry snap under the crushing grip. If he squeezed any harder, he would squeeze her helm right off.

"You, you think Sentinel is so great? You don't know him like I do. Everyone believes his lies, his stories, he gets all the glory, he even has those two freaks under his command," he seethed lowly, pulling her up then slamming her back onto the berth, causing her to strike the back of her helm very hard against the unforgiving metal. "I bet, the only reason they listen to him and believe all his slag is because he frags them… that should have been me!"

Was he talking about Jetstorm and Jetfire? Where was all this unbridled hostility coming from? Once more she tried to get him to loosen his grip but it was no use as she felt wires snap under the pressure. She couldn't even beg him to stop, static filled her optics but she could make out a pair of cold, sparkless red optics staring right down at her, watching her die.

The door to the room opened and a blocky frame rushed straight in. Ratchet froze, shock freezing his system momentarily but he rushed forward and grabbed at mech's arm, trying to pull him off. "Prime! What are you doing?!" he shouted.

Optimus snarled angrily, glaring at the medic he roughly shook his grip off but just as swiftly back handed him right in the faceplates, causing him to slam into wall behind them with a crash. "Stay out of this, you old glitch!" he snapped.

With one servo off Psyche felt like she could breathe but the other servo was still trying to rip her throat cables out. Seeing the Prime caught off guard, she gave the internal command to let the electrical charge build and gave the enraged mech a good shock to his system. He let go with a shout but before he could regain control she withdrew her hammer from her subspace and despite the limited space, struck him in the chassis. The electrical charge from the hammer combined with her own was enough to send him flying out of the room, across the hall, and into the wall opposite of the door. If their shouting behind closed doors didn't alert every mech in the building, that did.

Prowl had heard the arguing and was growing concerned, having seen Ratchet leave moments earlier to see what was going on, but the yelling had increased and he stepped into the hallway just in time to watch the Prime go flying out of his room and slammed into the opposite wall. For a moment he thought they had been attacked and knelt at his side, checking to see if he was alright but a movement at the room across from them made him immediately tense and moved before his leader, ready to defend him. His optics grew wide behind his visor as he saw the veteran medical officer stumbled to the doorway, energon running from his lip plate and one of his optics badly cracked. "Ratchet-?"

"Behind you!"

Hearing something behind him the Cyber Ninja immediately jumped to the side, thinking some Decepticon had invaded their base and was trying to get at him from behind but he froze when he saw it was their team leader. "Optimus? What's going on?"

 **"** **That's not Prime!"** Psyche screamed at everyone through the public comm link even as she stumbled to the doorway, leaning against Ratchet as she continued to grip at her throat with a servo. She was kicking herself for having not figured it out sooner but she couldn't break whatever psychic hold was on the Prime, her own processor was struggling to retain its own normal functions due to the brief lack of energon. Glancing at the other mechs who looked confused she focused in on Skyfire and pointed at the Prime. **"Stop him before he gets away!"**

"I'm not leaving without that carrier!" he snarled and actually bolted to his right, intending on making it to the medbay but before he could get to the door he found it blocked by a very agitated Skywarp and ticked off Slipstream. "Move!" he ordered.

"Make us!" they snapped back, protective programming surging to the frontlines.

Prime growled and was prepared to do that he failed to notice a large frame behind him until the massive servo gripped him by the back of his plating and in a swift move, slammed him into the ground with enough force to make the entire factory shake even down to its foundation. The optics faded from red to blue then finally flickered off, his processor unable to deal with the sudden damage and crashed, forcing him in a deep recharge. No one said anything but they all had questioning looks in their optics and a singular question on their processors: what in the Pitt happened?

* * *

At the hidden Decepticon base, a certain seeker jerked from his deep recharge with a snarling curse leaving his lip plates. He had been so close! If only that old medic and those traitors hadn't interfered he could have eliminated one of the Autobots and have the carrier brought to Lord Megatron! But no matter, the trust the Prime had with his team was surely broken, they would never follow another order which meant the next time they fought, the Decepticons would be victorious.

 _'_ _I failed in destroying that femme, but next time she will not be so fortunate,'_ he smirked to himself. Yes, his plans were falling into place and soon the Decepticons would be back where they rightfully belong, as the rightful rulers and inhabitants of the planet Cybertron.

All hail Lord Megatron!

* * *

The Autobot team could not wrap their processors over what they had witnessed. Their team leader, their friend, Optimus Prime, had attacked two of their own as well as a neutral party, and would have botnapped Bumblebee if he hadn't been stopped. No one knew what to do or say but Ratchet was quick to give orders as much as he didn't like it, ordering the Prime to have stasis cuffs placed on him. Since the factory didn't have any way of keeping him secure, the only thing they could do was take him to the Elite Guards' ship and place him in the brig. The veteran was used to giving orders and this time, no one bothered to argue with him. Even the seekers listened to him, including Starscream. Psyche, she was the only one who refused to listen.

 _'_ _Something isn't right, But I can't place my digit on it,'_ she said to herself as she looked into the cell where the red and blue Prime had been placed. He was sitting on the floor, propped against the far wall, still wearing the stasis cuffs. His optics were offline, meaning he could still be out. Or he was lying in wait. She winced as several lines of errors filled her HUD before she pushed them aside. The repeatedly strikes to her helm damaged her processor slightly, but all she needed was a good recharge and her self-repair could deal with it.

"You should let the medic look you over," Thundercracker spoke up behind her.

"Tell me something I don't know," she hissed softly. Not only did her processor hurt, so did her backstrut where the edge of the berth had dug in deeply. Ratchet had repaired her damages throat, but before she could let him get to the other damaged area she told him she needed to see Optimus. That hadn't gone over very well.

 _"_ _I'm going to talk with him, faceplates to faceplates." She couldn't even detect a hitch as she spoke and cycled air softly in relief. She heard the medic freeze before turning swiftly to put his tools away. Meaning, he was upset. At her. Slowly sitting up she moved so she was sitting on the edge and studied his backplates. "I have to talk to him-"_

 _"_ _No you don't. He acted well outta line, he hurt you and he hurt Bumblebee."_

 _"_ _He admitted he hurt Bee but he wasn't right in the processor. I'm a medic-"_

 _"_ _Who was nearly scrapped-"_

 _"_ _-and I made an oath before Primus to help those in need. Ratchet, I know you lost someone you cared about, I know it still haunts you, but I'm not her. I'm nothing like her. I'm not even an Autobot much less a soldier!"_

 _"_ _Don't you think I know that!?" he snapped angrily. Slamming a tool down on the table with enough force that made her jump. "I was upset when you left Cybertron but when I heard what happened I was relieved. It meant you were safe, away from all the fighting… I had lost too many friends, either in the field or in my medbay… I didn't want to lose you as well."_

"I hate war," she muttered quietly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." She paused and turning to the blue-violet seeker nodded. "Thanks, but you didn't have to come here to watch me."

"Perhaps." His wings gave a slight twitch. "Now what?"

"I need to speak to Sentinel." The wings went tense and optics narrowed. "You don't have to escort me, I just want to talk to him."

"He's a glitch."

"I know. Believe me, I know." Seeing how the ship was much smaller than Steel Haven, the dark blue Prime had been locked in his own quarters, all communication blocked. He was literally a prisoner in his own quarters. Coming up to the door Psyche unlocked it and stepped in followed by the seeker.

Sentinel looked up and scowled as he get to his peds. "What the slag do you want?" he demanded.

"To talk," Psyche said calmly, silently gesturing to the seeker with a servo. "I have some questions I want to ask you."

"And then I'll be let out?"

"No."

"Then forget it!" Turning so his backplates were facing them he crossed his servos over his chassis. They had even taken away his battle lance, blocked him from using his shield, they even locked him in his root form! It was humiliating!

Psyche vented softly but looked at eh seeker over her shoulder joint. "Can you leave us for a few breems?" his wings snapped up and down, a clear indication of confusion. "I need to talk but alone." A slight twitch of a wingtip. "He won't do anything. And if he does, I'll crash his processor the old-mech way." No movement at all. "I mean it, wait outside if you want to, just go." The seeker let out a low growl before backing out of the room, locking the door once he was out.

"How can you understand them?"

"Skyfire taught me. There's an old saying, if you want to know what a seeker is thinking, you need to watch their wings." There was a tense silence but Optimus' words replayed themselves in her processor, making it ache. "Sentinel… I have to know, Jetfire and Jetstorm, what do you think of them?"

"What do you care? Those two are immature younglings, they treat their training as though it's some sort of game. They also forget that I'm their commanding officer and they should be heeding my orders, no one else," he said bitterly.

"Perhaps… have you ever thought of 'facing with them?" She should have thought of another way to ask but the words were out before she could stop herself. The larger mech whirled to look at her, optics wide and frame tense with shock. She had her answer before he opened his mouth.

"What do you take me for? That never even attempted to cross my processor! Ever!"

"Yet you wanted to delete an unformed sparkling and imprison the carrier."

"The High Council explicitly stated that all Decepticons must be destroyed and those that fraternize with them are marked as traitors to the Autobot cause," he said coolly, having memorized those exact words the moment he was sworn in as a Prime.

"What if the Autobot in question had been Elita-1? Would you be able to delete her sparkling, especially if she wanted to keep it?" she countered.

Sentinel froze, tensing he looked to the side, a surge of mixed emotions fighting for control over his logistics. "Elita-1 is dead," he said coldly.

"… what if it was someone you cared about greatly? Someone you would give up your own spark to protect no matter what, would you do it? Do you want the energon and memory of offlining a unformed sparkling to be on your servos just because of its sire?" It was harsh and she hated saying it, but she watched as shock and confusion flickered over his faceplates, optics shuddering as his processor tried to go over the data.

"I-the council-orders-I-!" Sentinel could feel a massive glitch coming on, his processor threatening to crash; he stumbled and fell onto his berth, he didn't realize his servo was shaking until he lifted it to his helm, cradling it. "I… I…"

The femme could see he was on the verge of a meltdown and quickly moved to kneel before him. "Sentinel, look at me," she said firmly, resting one of her servos on his shoulder and the other on the other side of his helm. She couldn't do much since her own processor was still struggling with her own injuries but she could still help him. Once he met her optics she sent a wireless coding to temporarily shut down the loop of data he was no doubt experiencing. Waiting a few kliks she slowly removed her servo. "How do you feel?"

He opened his mouth to say he was fine, but he wasn't. Instead he stared down at his peds, letting his servo drop from his helm to grip the edge of the berth. "… I don't know anymore…"

"Sentinel…" Primus, now what? She could apologize for putting him through so much but she wanted him to open his optics. Instead she nearly made him suffer a massive glitch. Slowly she stood and turned to leave but stopped and turned to him. "I'm here if you ever want to talk," she offered quietly.

"So you can tell Optimus how pathetic I am?" he said quietly.

"That's none of his business. Everybot needs to vent once in a while, and I'm willing to listen." Nodding to him she knocked on the door and stepped out as soon as Thundercracker unlocked it from the outside. In the hall she wordlessly walked to the command post as the seeker locked the door and took up a guard post.

Skyfire looked up when he heard ped steps and watched as his friend entered, getting to his peds. "Psyche, how did it go?" he asked quietly.

"I really wish I knew how to answer that," she admitted quietly, wincing as her HUD lit up with more lines of errors. "I'm going to head back to the factory, but let me know as soon as Optimus comes online."

"Would you like me to fly you back?"

"No, I'll be fine." Waving slightly she walked out of the ship, down the ramp. It was well into the night, rarely any organics out, but that was fine with her. Once she was clear she transformed and silently drove back to the factory. Unfortunately, she never realized she was being watched as a purple and beige jet followed, hidden by the dark of night.

Blitzwing shouldn't be doing this, if Lord Megatron ever found out—well, it would certainly not be pleasant. Especially if all he was going to do was talk with the femme instead of following her to the Autobot's base or using her to lure out the minibot carrier. But ever since he saw her and learned about his passing… he wanted answers. Flying in as low as he could without being detected, he opened the panel beneath his jet mode and took careful aim before letting the ice missile loose. It flew through the air and hit the street ahead, coating the streets ahead in a thick layer of ice.

"What was that?" Psyche asked herself, trying to peer into the darkness but she couldn't make out anything. She had let her processor wonder as she thought back to what she had learned from both Primes, and it was so quiet out she failed to notice the ice coating the road until her tires went skidding. Uttering several choice curses she tried to gain some sort of control but she had never driven in such a condition and her tires were unable to gain any sort of traction. She was prepared to transform and take her chances that way but froze when she took a curve too fast and suddenly lost all control. The next thing she was knew she jumped the railing which sent her onto her side, skidding until she smashed her front end into a lone electrical pole, snapping it and causing it to land on her, pretty much pinning her to the street.

 _'_ _T-That… really… hurt…'_ she thought to herself and tried to transform but once more several lines of errors filled her HUD and she could feel her processor shutting down. _'Oh scrap…'_ She fell into a forced stasis, never hearing a jet flying low or transforming as it landed. She was unaware of anything but the quiet of the night.

~ To be continued… ~

 **Author's Notes:** I was going to add more, as a way of "sorry for taking so long to update" and "thanks for sticking around" but at least I'll have something for the next chapter :) Originally I was going to have Sentinel continue being a large jackaft like he usually is in the series, but I felt bad for him so as I was writing this my fingers decided to give him a break. What does that mean for the story? Well, is Sent isn't the one pulling the strings, who is?

Again, I'm gonna be cutting this short. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, if not, then please tell me why or what I can do differently. Don't forget to leave a comment/review! See you in the next chapter!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** Sorry for the long wait, fellow and loyal readers, but here it is! I've been working on this chapter on and off for weeks (weeks? Felt more like months) but I manage to complete it! Now in this one I'm going a bit more into the past of Psyche but hopefully it won't derail you from the original plot. I did this because as I was writing this I unintentionally began creating a backstory for said OC and I think she's showing a lot of promise. I'm hoping when this story finishes I can do a full story about her so you can get a better feel of her character. To cut this short, here is the latest ranking oh who Bee should end up with in the end of the story:

Prowl: 17

Starscream: 14

Optimus Prime: 4

Other: 5 (Bulkhead: 1; Skywarp: 1; Sentinel: 2)

Okay, I went back to count and recount all the votes and reviews and this is the updated tally as of 11/22/17. Prowler is again in first place, Screamy in second, and surprise late entry is Sent! Again, not surprise by Prowl but but Scream is slowly gaining a loyal fan base. Keep your votes coming in, readers :)

 **"** **Comm link."**

 **~Private comm link.~**

 _:Seekers speaking.:_

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

Ratchet stared at the arrangement of his tools, a cleaning cloth off to the side where it had been used just recently. Everything in the medbay was pristine and had been organized and reorganized; the same could be said for his own quarters but he found himself staring at the chronometer repeatedly.

A klik barely passed since the last time he checked and he cycled air through his system slowly and resisted the urge to make a mess just so he had something to do. His servos kept busy, but it was his processor that was giving him a hard time. It had been well over a joor since Psyche had gone to speak with Optimus and find out why he had attacked her but there was nothing from her. Narrowing his optics Ratchet tried to send her a comm but he never received a response. He knew he shouldn't worry, she was capable of taking care of herself and hated when somebot interrupted her time with a patient, but there was nothing from her end. That wasn't like her, what if Prime had tried attacking her again and she wasn't able to call out for help?

 _'_ _No, Skyfire is with her.'_ The large shuttle had reacted to her orders when she had commed everyone that wasn't their Prime without any hesitation. No one wanted to believe her but it was hard to ignore the bruised cables and broken wires in her throat or that he himself had a badly cracked optic. Venting he sat back on his stool, rubbing his optic carefully. His self-repair system had taken care of the damage but he had to be careful at least until tomorrow before the nanities in his system were completely done. _'Maybe, I should comm him,'_ he thought and prepared himself to send a comm to the white seeker but stopped and closed it. No, Psyche was fine. If she was in any danger she could not handle she would comm for help.

… wouldn't she?

He pulled up his chronometer and saw several kliks had barely passed by.

 _'…_ _slag it.'_

* * *

 _A sparkling only a few megacycles old onlined bright blue-green optics. She looked around the darkened room but with no light available and no sign of her creators she was beginning to grow fearful. She was still too young to sit up though it didn't stop her from trying or from letting out worried cries as she longed for her creators. Her cries grew louder as she heard a door open and made out a large form bending over her, reaching out towards her._

 _"_ _Don't cry sweetspark, your sire's here," the mech spoke softly, brushing a large digit over the soft faceplates, smiling as the sparkling settled. She was so small but if anyone were to ask him, he would say she resembled more of her carrier than himself. He watched as her tiny servos wrapped around his digit, holding onto it with a tight grip. "Don't you want to finish recharging?" he asked but she let out a series of sparkling babble which consisted of rapid clicks. Instead she brought his digit up to her mouthplates and gnawed at it. "I should take that as a no?" He knew they had sparkling grade energon for her but as he gently eased his digit away his optics grew wide when she started to cry again. "No, no don't cry, I'm going to get your energon."_

 _The sparkling didn't understand what her creator was saying but she lifted her servos up to him. She wanted to be held but he was only looking down at her. Why wasn't he picking her up? Didn't he want to hold her? She cried louder, now wanting her other creator who she knew would hold her. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long as the light in her room turned on and another mech appeared at the side of her enclosed berth. She whimpered softly as servos reached down and lifted her up so she was cradled against a warm chassis; she clicked softly as she "listen" to the familiar spark next to her audio, cooing softly in content._

 _The larger mech vented quietly and watched as his sparkmate comforted their sparkling with such ease. "I didn't mean to disturb your recharge, Swiftsong," he admitted as he looked down, rubbing the back of his helm. "I thought she was going to slip back into recharge."_

 _"_ _It's alright, Dion, I couldn't recharge once I heard her crying," the slender mech smiled, looking up at him. He continued to cradle the sparkling close, a servo gently stroking her backstrut and listening as she continued to coo softy, tiny servos gripping at him and feeling their sparks pulsing in sync. "She didn't want to recharge anymore?"_

 _"_ _No, but she did gnaw on my digit for a klik or two," he admitted, reaching out and tenderly stroking the back of her helm, aware of how large his servo was compared to the tiny femme. "I can get her energon."_

 _"_ _No need, I have it in my subspace." Turning to face him he made to give the larger mech the sparkling but paused when he saw him freeze in place. "Dion?"_

 _"_ _I-I've never held a sparkling before. What if I drop her? What if she tries to pull away? What if I crush her?" But the slender mech walked up to him and before he knew it, the quiet sparkling was placed into his servos. Once more he was daunted by how small she looked in his large servos. "Swiftsong-"_

 _"_ _Relax, Dion. She's not going to hurt you," he said softly, trailing his own servo over her helm. The sparkling looked up between them, clicking happily as she once more grabbed the servo and gnawed on it, expressing her hunger. Swiftsong chuckled softly, leaning over to press a soft kiss to her forehelm. "Little Lotus…" he whispered softly, easing his digit away as he reached into his subspace._

 _Dion smiled down at the sparkling and slowly, carefully, brought her to his chassis. She looked at him curiously but her tiny digits reached out, gripping at his plating. The mech moved back until the back of his stabilizers hit something and he lowered himself down onto the seat, settling her into the crook of his arm. He held his other servo out to her, smiling as she inspected his larger digits curiously before bringing it forward and gnawed on the digit._

 _The sparkling simply known as Lotus by her creators, was happy now that her creators were here and the darkness was gone, but she was hungry. She squirmed when she felt something brush against her stomach plating, but it came again and she released the digit from her oral plates to squeak in surprise. She felt the chassis she was held against vibrate and once more there was a tickling sensation on her plating. She squeaked in surprise once more, trying to grab at the digits as they continued to brush against her._

 _Swiftsong smiled, watching his sparkmate playing with their sparkling before he moved closer, holding the half-filled cube of a pasty pink energon. "You were worried over nothing, she's still newly sparked, and she wants to know her creators more." The carrier was enjoying the soft squeaks she was letting out as her abdominal plates were being caressed, the way she curled in as she was tickled before her attention was drawn to the cube. He chuckled as she began reaching out for the faintly glowing cube, making eager clicks. He moved closer, easily lifting her up with one servo and the other carefully tilted the cube for her to begin feeding._

 _The sparkling was happy to begin swallowing the tasty fluids, clutching at the transparent container with her tiny servos. She protested when the fluids were taking away for a bit before returning. She didn't realize her carrier was moving around as she continued to eat, or that her sire was talking to him as his servo came up to rub at her helm gently. She couldn't understand what they were saying but her processor recorded everything and saved it as a file to be viewed later on._

 _"_ _She's so small right now," the large blue and white mech said quietly with affection in his vocalizer._

 _"_ _Told you there was nothing to fear," the slender mech answered, smiling at him._

 _The larger mech smiled at his conjunx endura then looked down at the sparkling in his arm. Their sparkling. "I would do anything to protect you both, Swiftsong, even at the cost of my own spark," he said softly, watching as the optics began to dim as she finished he last drops of low grade energon._

 _"_ _I pray to Primus that will never happen," Swiftsong said as he handed him the empty cube and held her to his shoulder joint, tapping the middle of her backstruts to help relieve the air bubbles she had trapped in her tank. "You're a Prime, Dion. You have duties that require you to protect not just us but all of Cybertron as well. If anything were to happen to you…" He trailed off but didn't turn to face him as Lotus let out soft popping sounds. "I've heard the council is looking to make you their new Magnus."_

 _"…_ _I told them I wasn't interested in the title or position," he said calmly, watching as his mate turned to face him, blue-green optics wide.._

 _"_ _What? But you've told me that was your dream; why would you say no?"_

 _"_ _Because it would mean more time spent away from you and our Lotus. Song," he crossed the few feet that separated them and reached out to gently stroke the side of his faceplates with thick digits, "you two are worth more than any position the council could give me. I don't want to lose either of you, it would destroy me…"_

 _"_ _Dion…" Slowly he reached up, holding the servo he cycled air quietly before leaning up and kissed him. He smiled at the look of surprise on his broad faceplates and reached up to gently stroke the side of his helm. "Whatever you decide, I will always be there for you. I promise, with all my spark. I love you, Ultra Prime."_

 _The Prime smiled and wrapped his servo around his bonded sparkmate, holding him tightly he kissed him once more and looked down at the now sleeping sparkling between them, systems cycling air softly. She curled against her carrier's chassis, listening to the steady hum of his spark. "I wish the war was over, so Bluestar Lotus can grow up knowing nothing but peace."_

 _"_ _One day it will end, and we'll be together always," Swiftsong said, reaching out to gently trace a cheek ridge with the tip of his digit, smiling as she reached out sleepily and gripped it tightly. "Our little sweetspark…"_

 _'…_ _ca… car-rier… si… si-re…'_

Oh Primus did her helm ache something fierce! The first thing that crossed the femme's processor as she entered standby mode was that everything hurt from her struts to her plating. She kept her optics off as she ran a scan over her system and found that she was alright except parts of her protoform had been bruised from a series of heavy dents on her frame, her backstrut was radiating more pain than before, and she felt as though she ran into something hard and said thing then fell atop of her.

 _'_ _Wait. Something_ did _fall on me,'_ Psyche thought and brought up the last video feed she had before she fell into stasis. Her processor protested, not wanting to deal with anything but she forced it through and watched as she hit a thick patch of ice and went skidding, somehow managed to continue skidding on her side before hitting a lone structure then having said structure fall and hit her. Oh right, now she remembered. Her logistics were trying to point out something was wrong but she ignored everything and took a moment to take in her surroundings and discovered she didn't like any of it.

For one thing she was in her primary form. She didn't know when it happened but if she crashed badly enough that she was knocked offline, then why did she transform back into her root form? Second, as far as she could tell she wasn't out on the street and didn't feel any ice even remotely nearby, so had she tried driving off, or maybe she transformed and took off before offlining somewhere? If so, why didn't her system record it? Another thing, she didn't feel any heavy dents on her frame indicating she had suffered a crash, which meant someone popped them out.

 _'_ _Conclusion: someone pulled me somewhere off the main road, and popped out my dents. Either a good bot happened to wander by, or the one who froze the roads decided they wanted me alive than dead. Fan-fragging-tastic.'_ She allowed her optics to online and waited for the static to clear. She was laying somewhere soft and quiet, but she wasn't certain where. Slowly she forced herself to sit up, backstrut protecting she looked around and saw she was in a small clearing. It explained why the ground was so soft but she couldn't see any sign of her rescuer/attacker. She tried to send out a comm but winced when she opened a channel and received a powerful backlash of static followed by very loud white noise. _'Okay, comms are out.'_ She tried to give the command to transform but her processor and frame denied the command; her self-repair system was trying to handle the slew of errors that kept darting across her HUD. _'So why didn't I just stay in my vehicle mode?'_ she scowled to herself. She wanted to bring up the medical lessons she had learned when she had been studying on Cybertron but stopped when her processor made her experience a bad glitch that nearly sent her offline. _'Okay, bad idea. I must have been hit a lot harder than I thought.'_

A mech was silently watching her sit in the middle of the clearing, holding her helm in both servos but made no move to let himself be known or assist her. He had been worried when he had approached her, thinking he had nearly offlined her but she had just been knocked out. He then managed to tow her to a clearing thanks to his tank mode and begun repairing what he could and managed to pop out many of the deep dents to try and relieve the pressure. He left her for a few breems to make certain that no other mech was around. He didn't want to fight the Autobots but he especially didn't want to try and explain to Megatron why he had captured the femme but didn't bring her back to their base.

 _'_ _She is so much like him… I zought, he had survived.'_ That same bit of data had been running in an endless loop in his processor since the moment he first saw the femme and mistook her for somebot else. Even now he could see a bit of his personality files in her but he wanted to know what happened. He tensed as he watched her get to her peds, looking highly unsteady before straightening but the moment she tried walking she began stumbling and was about to land helm first into a rather thick tree. He moved without warning, wrapping his servos around her waist and using his own mass kept her from hitting the tree.

Psyche stared at the organic material, not wanting to think how much damage her processor would have suffered if she had hit it. Her equilibrium system was trying to readjust but her HUD warned her against any other movement until it was safe. "… thanks," she told her savior and held onto his servos as he helped her stand upright until she do so without falling over. He didn't say anything and he was holding his EM field tightly to himself, but she could tell from the contact alone that it was a mech, he was taller than her and his frame was bulkier, but it was completely unfamiliar. Frowning she looked down and saw that the servos still holding onto her were a dark color. Her night vision couldn't reveal the exact color but she could tell they were not any servos she was familiar with at all. "Decepticon?"

"I'm not here to harm joo, I vant some answers," he said calmly, feeling how tense she had become. She hesitantly nodded and slid his servos from around her and made to step back as she turned but she moved too fast and was pitching to the side. He reached out, intent on keeping her from hitting the ground he nearly missed the fist coming at him, wincing as it struck him in the side of his helm. The femme wasn't that big, but the impact behind her strike was strong and he stumbled backwards. His right optic was badly cracked but it didn't stop him from shifting faceplates to the red tinted mech that everyone referred to as Hothead. "Vhat vas zat for?!" he demanded angrily but the femme didn't so much as flinch.

"You really think I was gonna fall for that? I wasn't sparked yesterday," she hissed as she reached into her subspace and withdrew her hammer, never mind the fact that she was on her side and system errors darted across her display. To be honest, she had wanted to hit him in the faceplates but her frame shifted as she was turning and she wasn't expecting him to try and catch her when she swung. Even now she was bracing herself on one servo as she waited impatiently for her system to recalibrate itself.

"I vas trying to help! At least apologize when joo hit me, Star Siren!"

"I'm not my carrier!" she screamed at him, startling the both of them. Her servo holding her hammer shook but she refused to let it drop. "I'm not him… he, he joined the Well of the AllSpark vorns ago…" she whispered, feeling her optics dim as she struggled not to breakdown into sobs. "He's gone…" It was eerily quiet for several long kliks, turning almost into a full breem when she heard him move towards her. She didn't bother to look up, even as the strength in her servo gave and she dropped the hammer to the ground. She had thought she was over the demise of her carrier, but being with Bumblebee and trying to help him care for the developing sparkling had hit her harder than she had intended. She heard the Decepticon step before her and braced herself for her ultimate destruction, or worse yet, to be taken back to the leader of the Decepticons and no doubt tortured for information. A servo reached out, cupping her chin and gently lifted her faceplates up. She blinked as she watched the faceplates shift to that of the mech she had struck earlier, his optic still badly cracked. He said nothing but he released her chin and grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her up until she was sitting in front of him but never made a move to disarm her or hurt her. After another tense breem he spoke up and what he said shocked her.

"Joo look so much like him, joo must be his sparkling he mentioned," he said lowly, as though he was talking to himself. "I had zought, he had been rescued. Zere was never anozer sign of him and I had hoped, prayed zat he had made it."

"… you knew Swiftsong?" she asked and he looked at her in confusion. "That, that was his true designation. What do you mean about his sparkling? How did you know he had been rescued? Who are you?"

The mech slowly shuttered his optics but he quietly sat back, looking at her for several kliks before looking away. "I only knew him as Star Siren, wiz a vocalizer zat charmed many bots, including mienself. Forgive me, I am Blitzwing, solider for Lord Megatron."

"Blitzwing… wait, are you the one everyone calls glitched?"

Faceplates whirled as Hothead appeared and looked ready to blow her up on the spot. "Vho calls me a glitch?! I'll turn zem into scrap metal!" The faceplates whirled before coming back to the pale blue faceplates as he calmly sat back down. "Forgive me, I have some issues I am currently handling," he admitted before there was another whirl of gears as the black and red faceplates of Random appeared, cackling loudly. "But I have every issue!"

"… okay…" Psyche blinked, unsure how to process this strange mech she waited until the blue one seemed to reign in some sort of control. "Look, just tell me how you know my carrier and do it before somebot comes looking for us; I rather not play shoot now and ask a hundred questions later."

"Of course. But tell me, vhat do joo know of your carrier." The femme frowned but sighed and admitted that she knew her carrier was a spy who went disguised as an entertainer to gain intel, that he enjoyed it and wanted to see the war end, it was also where she meet her sire. The triple-changer said nothing but unknowingly his servo closed into a fist that he was resisting the pound into the ground. "I only knew your carrier as Star Siren, and he was a talented singer. He charmed many mechs and femmes, but he never pursued anything beyond a casual friendship. It didn't not stop me from trying…"

 _The silver and dark blue mech looked at him with large optics, the sound of the patrons of the establishment sounded as though it was megamiles away even though they were in the back where his dressing quarters were located. "… what did you say?"_

 _The beige and purple solider crossed the short distance between them, taking his servos in his larger ones and pulled him close, never looking away. "Come vith me. I can give joo anyzing joo vant, treat joo like ze treasure joo are," he said even as he pressed the held servos to his chassis, letting him feel the way his spark pulsed beneath the protective plating. "Be mein sparkmate, mein conjunx endura."_

 _"_ _Blitz…" the singer whispered, unsure what to say and dropped his gaze to where his silver plated servo was pressed into the larger mech's chassis, feeling the emblem's edges just beneath the sensitive pads of his digits. "You're a Decepticon… and I, I cannot become one of you."_

 _"_ _Joo don't have to! I don't expect joo to fight, Siren! I vill protect joo and make sure joo are no vhere close to any Autobots, I vill not even tell Lord Megatron about joo!" he interrupted, knowing that if the warlord ever found out about the entertainer, he would not be pleased and would no doubt order him to get rid of him. Such distractions were pointless in times of war. One of his large servos reached out and gently tilted the silver faceplates up, a digit brushing over the bottom of his lip plate. "Please, say yes."_

 _The feminine mech said nothing, watching as he lowered his faceplates as though he was going to kiss him but he pulled back and slowly turned away, feeling his lip components brush along a cheek ridge instead. "I'm sorry, Blitzwing… I can't accept it."_

 _He was shocked and pulled back, even as he squeezed his servos harder to his chassis. "But why?" Siren couldn't look at him, repeating that he was sorry._

"Even zough he refused, I did not stop trying. I knew zere was another strange mech vying for his attention, I believe he was a neutral but I never bozered to learn his designation. Zen one cycle he told everyone it vould be his last time performing. I tried to find out vhy but he vas gone and I never heard from him again."

Psyche was silent for several long kliks, remembering how she had asked her carrier about the time her sire had asked him to be his sparkmate, how happy he had been to accept it. But was the Decepticon's proposal before or after that of her sire's? Was it really because of their fractions? "The way you called out to me, that wasn't the last time you saw him." She watched him tense and looked away but she wasn't having any of that as she angrily hit the ground with a fist, causing him to look at her startled. "I demand a straight answer and so far you're the only one willing to tell me anything. Why didn't you know Swiftsong joined the Well of the AllSpark? How did you know I was his sparkling?"

"… I… vas the reason he vas injured." Blitzwing explained that the Decepticons had learned of an Autobot spy who had been able to gain sensitive intel that was used against them and managed to capture him, but no matter what was done no one was able to get any information from him despite being beaten and tortured for cycles on end and no amount of hacking was able to break through his firewalls. The warlord was so enraged he ordered his soldiers to deal with the spy however they wanted; Blitzwing was ordered to make certain that any remains were to be delivered to the High Council itself. The triple-changer never expected the spy to be the slender mech he had asked to be his sparkmate himself. Their brief reunion had not been pleasant, and he had let his anger take over, torturing him under the guise of getting information but none of it was useful. The solider shook himself from the memory clip, seeing that the femme was still looking at him, waiting for an answer.

"I found out Siren—Swiftsong, had a sparkling vaiting for him back on Cybertron but Lord Megatron wanted the spy destroyed. I vas given the task of ending his life cycle."

"… how did Swiftsong end up being rescued by the Autobots? All I heard was he was found on an escape pod with his distress signal on," she said coolly, resisting the urge to hit him. When she was old enough she actually hacked her carrier's medical files and found he had been beaten and even raped so badly he had fallen into emergency stasis so there was no way he could have sent out the distress signal much less pilot the escape pod. She had tried bringing it up without revealing what she had done but no one could answer her questions.

"I have done many things in my lifecycle, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not eliminate him," he admitted lowly. "I let him escape and hoped ze Autobots would find him in time." He didn't mention that his plan had almost failed when one of the soldiers had seen the escape pod being launched out and alerted Megatron who immediately sent everyone out, including him. But with the distress signal broadcasting on all channels an Autobot scouting vessel had been homing in on the signal as well. It had been a fierce fight on both sides with heavy causalities—himself included. Nothing else was said but he slowly stood, getting to his peds and looked down at the femme. "I did care for him, I vould have given him anything he vanted, I vould have protected him from all harm."

"But you refused to leave the 'Cons. And, he refused to leave the 'Bots…" she whispered, looking away. She shook her helm, refusing to dwell on that and leaned forward, slowly pushing himself up onto her peds. She managed to stand but once more she felt herself pitch forward and once more she was caught. This time she let him and waited for her gyro-stabilizers to settle before straightening and looking up at him. "You, tried to save him, even if you're part of the reason he did offline. Don't think I'll be forgiving you anytime soon."

"I cannot ask joo to forgive me, not for taking joor carrier avay. But I vill not fight joo since joo are not an Autobot, but I vill not go against Lord Megatron or stop being a Decepticon."

"Fine by me. I'm not an Autobot and I'm not going to become a Decepticon, but I will protect Bumblebee AND his sparkling with my own spark," she pointed out even as she jabbed her digit into his chassis, poking at the purple insignia. "The next time any of your pals come after him, I will not hesitate to turn them into scrap metal. Are we clear?"

Icy blinked, letting he words processor in his helm and with no warning, let out a cackling laugh that was more suited to Random. The femme looked at him in confusion but the laugher didn't last long as he ended in a quiet chuckle. "Joo remind me so much of him. I zink, he vould be proud of joo." His servo came up, stroking the side of her faceplates, looking down at her before slowly pulling back. Without another word he transformed and left, leaving her alone. Psyche watched him go, silently wondered if this had really happened when she heard a sharp burst of static from her comm link.

"Psyche here."

 **"** **Where in the Pitt have you been?! I've been trying to reach you for over a joor!"** Ratchet shouted angrily, resisting the urge to race down the empty streets.

Normally Psyche would have snapped back that he wasn't her creator and she could take care of herself but she wasn't sure what to say. "I…" She trailed off and found herself slowly sinking down until she was sitting on the ground once more, suddenly feeling very vulnerable and lost, like a youngling who had just lost a beloved creator.

 **"…** **Psyche?"**

"… I don't know, Ratchet… I don't know anymore."

Blue optics widen when he heard the lost tone in her tone and knew something was wrong. **"Lotus, what's wrong? What happened?"** he asked, listening carefully to her response.

"… I found out what happened, to my carrier… but I'm wishing I hadn't…" She didn't hear whatever he was saying, didn't even try to transform, so many emotions were running rampage in her processor. She wanted to hit something as hard as she could, she wanted to scream and curse everyone she knew from the High Council to Megatron to Sentinel and even her sire, but she also wanted to cry for her carrier, to feel the love and security she had associated him with. She sat there in the clearing, not hearing the CMO saying he was on her way. In the distance she could hear tires followed by the familiar sounds of gears transforming, her designation being shouted, didn't even look up as a heavy frame found her and servos reached out and gently shook her shoulders. She looked up, not really looking at Ratchet but slowly, as though waking from a deep recharge, lifted her servos up to grip his arms. She couldn't find the words to tell him what happened but he seemed to know as he stood and carefully pulled her to her peds.

* * *

Ratchet worked silently, checking wires and circuity. He had already straightened the dented backstrut and was now working on the delicate circuitry. During his time as a field medic he had seen harden soldiers suffer such injuries and though they rarely made a sound they could not help but shift and fidget even with their sensory network completely numb. The femme lying on the medical berth was completely still, never made a sound and never moved. Running another thorough scan he found he had repaired all the minuscule damage and pulled back. "How are your systems?" he asked.

Psyche ran a scan, finding all the errors gone and everything listed as operational. "Fine. That didn't take very long," she admitted.

"Most of the damage had already been repaired, basic field repairs." Closing the back plating and making sure the panels were secure he helped her carefully sit up. Since he had led her back to the factory the femme had been silent, refusing to have her sensors numbed as he went over her repairs, but now he was worried. She didn't even yell at him when he called her by her original designation. "Lotus, are you alright?"

"…" She was silent as she looked down, optics dim. "I think, I understand why you wanted to leave Cybertron so much…" she said quietly, venting softly as she continued sitting on the medical berth, optics dimming even more. "I wish this stupid war never started, all its done is eliminate mechs and femmes. At this rate, even Torkulon won't be safe."

Ratchet wasn't normally optimistic, he had seen too many things that he couldn't forget even if he wiped his processor clean. He called it as he saw it, but Psyche—Lotus, suffered as much as he did, maybe more. Venting softly he reached out, grabbed her by the shoulders and waited until she looked up at him before speaking up.

"Lotus, I call things as I see it, you know that better than anyone, and even when there were no more Decepticon sightings I knew they were out there, waiting for us to drop our guard. I thought I was going to live out my usefulness on a maintenance crew but looking at this team of unruly mechs, I know we'll finally see an end to this war once and for all." She could only look at him, unsure but as her optics began to brighten he leaned forward and wrapped his servos around her tightly, pulling her against his chassis. "I lost everyone I cared about, and I'm sure as the Pitt not going to lose you."

"Ratch…" Part of her wanted to deny what he said, to tell him this war would never end, that they were all doomed from the start but what if he was right? What if, they were able to win this war, and all mechs and femmes would be united as one? Servos came up and wrapped around him, starting loosely before tightening around him as tightly as she could. Memories of being held by her creators came forward and she held on as though her very spark depended on it.

* * *

The following morning, Prowl waited nervously, his stabilizer twitching. He was waiting for bumblebee to wake up so he could apologize properly. The other day and then witnessing the unnatural way Optimus had reacted, it was a great deal of data to process. Once thing was certain, no one wanted to tell the minibot what had happened until they could find out themselves. Venting quietly he gripped his stabilizers tightly and tried to slip into a meditative state when he heard voices out in the hall. He slowly stood and moved to his door, listening.

"Are you certain you don't require more time recharging?"

"Yeah… I don't want spent all solar cycle in the berth, either."

 _'_ _Bumblebee.'_ He was awake, but he was with Starscream. The Cyber Ninja pulled back from his recently replaced door, torn from going out to greet them or staying in his room and hiding away. He seemed to hold in his vents as he heard them talking and froze when he realized the voices were right outside his door.

"I don't think you should speak with him," the seeker said with obvious distain in his tone.

"Starscream…" Bumblebee moaned lowly as he vented air through his system. "I just want to talk to him, he's still my friend."

"He was suppose to be watching over you. What kind of friend doesn't keep his word of protecting an expected carrier?" he growled lowly. If he had his way no one would allowed near the minibot and the still developing sparkling.

"Because _I_ still trust him." Bee could see the seeker wasn't happy but waited until he was looking at him before speaking up. "I know this is hard on you, but we're not like the Decepticons. Prowl is not only my teammate but he's still my friend and I want to talk to him."

The former SIC growled once more, not liking it but calmed as he reached for him, pulling him into what he had heard the organics call a hug. Personally he would rather take him back to his room and press their sparks together, to make sure the both of them were always protected, but he knew the scout would hate him from denying him his friends. He vented once more and looked down at him. "I'll be waiting in the common room."

"Thanks," he beamed, hugging the seeker but motioning him down he pressed his lips against his in a gentle kiss. He didn't know what compelled him to do that but the both of them had a slight flush on their faceplates. The seeker said nothing as he slowly released him but not before brushing his servo over the warm chassis, feeling the energy from the sparkling as he turned and made his way to the common area. Bee watched him go and once he was alone in the hall he looked at the door. He had been told Prowl's door had been damaged when everyone had been trying to find him. Needless to say, the door had been completely removed and for now it was a nothing more than a thin piece of metal but hopefully the Cyber Ninja would be getting a proper door soon. He hesitated as he lifted a servo up to knock on it but dropped it and used his comm link instead. "Prowl? It's me, Bumblebee… can, can I talk to you?" There wasn't an answer but just before he could get discouraged the door opened and he saw the slender mech standing there. "Um, morning, Prowl."

"Good morning, Bumblebee," he said with a nod and stepped aside. "Please, come in." The door closed behind him once he entered and the ninja moved deeper into the room. He was about to sit down on the floor when he realized the scout was looking around. It took him a klik to realize if he sat on the floor like he was used to, he would have difficulty standing due to his expanding waistline. "I apologize, I don't have a place for you to sit."

"Huh? No it's okay! I just wanted to talk," he quickly said, giving him a weak smile before he looked away. "Prowl… about yesterday, I…" He stopped, looking anywhere except at him. "I… I… wanted to ask… yesterday…"

"Bumblebee, may I say something?" the ninja asked, catching the scout off-guard but he nodded for him to continue. "Yesterday, I had offered to help you with your "situation", and I know I said some hurtful things to you. That was never my intention, I never should have said those things to you, I should have just respected your wishes but-" He stopped himself from saying that he never should have touched him in such a manner but he didn't want him to get the wrong idea. He wasn't sure what else to say but he was surprised when he saw yellow tipped servos reaching out to take a hold of his own servo, squeezing it tightly.

"No Prowl, I should have just admitted something was wrong and returned to the base. I, it was embarrassing and I know I shouldn't have asked you to help me but I… I…" he paused, looking confused as he looked away for a brief moment before looking up at him. "I… trust you."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean it, I trust you. I knew you would help me if I asked, and your words did hurt but it was my fault for putting you in my situation. I'm sorry, Prowl. I promise I'll never ask for your help again."

"Bumblebee…" Saying nothing he pulled his servo free from his but before he could get discouraged he pulled Bumblebee close so their frames were touching and wrapped his servos around him in a hug. He felt him start but he made sure to keep the hug light so if he wanted to pull away, he could and not feel trapped. "If you ever need help with anything, and I mean anything, you are more than welcome to ask me," he said calmly. Perhaps not the best choice of words but should a similar situation ever arise (oh Primus please no!) he would find any way of helping him.

"R-Really?"

"I promise. You're my teammate but most importantly you are my friend, and I will always be there for you and your sparkling." He heard a quiet sniff and looking down couldn't see the minibot's faceplates as he was hiding them in the smooth plating of his chassis but he felt servos come up to wrap around him, hugging him back. Prowl smiled and continued to hug him, reaching up and gently rubbed his backstrut, feeling the heavy sigh and watched as his frame relaxed.

"Thanks, Prowl." The two of them stayed like them for several kliks before Bumblebee slowly pulled away, once more thanking the ninja and convincing him to join him in the common room. Prowl agreed and saw that Psyche was sitting on the couch, going over a data pad in her servo. Starscream was sitting in the chair made of tires, wing tips twitching but as soon as he saw the scout he immediately went over, wrapping his servo around his shoulders and pretty much led him to the couch. Sitting him next to them femme he deemed as safe he withdrew a cube of energon from his subspace and pushed it into his servos.

"You both need this," he said firmly. He wanted to make sure the carrier drank it all but watched the ninja like a cyberhawk as he made his way to where the extra cubes were stored.

Bumblebee giggled softly but slowly drank the cube, feeling the feel of it running through his system. He managed to drink all of it, sighing in relief and placed the empty cube on the table. Looking around he noticed the factory wasn't buzzing with the usual activity of his teammates and the seekers so he turned to the femme next to him. "Where's everybot else?"

"My seekers are doing patrols for your cityscape. Most of them anyway," he said and sat on the carrier's other side, watching with narrowed optics as the ninja sat in the seat he had recently vacated. "I believe your team is doing something similar."

"Translation: Bulkhead is at the island with Thundercracker, Sunstorm, Ramjet, and Skywarp at the island, finishing up preparations; the jettwins are with Slipstream and Sari patrolling New Detroit; and Skyfire is botsitting Sentinel," Psyche said as she scrolled through the data on her pad.

"Oh. Where's Ratchet, and Optimus?"

Everyone froze, unsure what to say. Last night when Psyche had finished speaking with Bumblebee, she had installed the code to help keep his logic circuits in control should he feel overcharged. When she was done she sent a private comm link to everyone to not mention to him what happened to Optimus. She had wanted to block the memory feed of what the Prime had done to him, but without his permission she held back. Slowly she lowered the datapad but didn't look at him. "He's with Sentinel on his ship. Ratchet went to make sure the big glitch wasn't hurt and will be back later."

"Oh. Okay." Reaching for the remote he began to surf through the channels on the TV before setting on a show he enjoyed watching. Psyche smiled at the minibot and went back to reading her data pad, enjoying the quiet of the factory for the time being.

Time seemed to fly by and as it did Bumblebee's sparkling grew as well. In more than one way. He was quickly gaining weight to which Ratchet and Psyche explained was his system creating the protoform from the excess metal he had been consuming. The mechs were also careful not to mention anything about his sudden weight as he began to feel incredible self-conscious about it and nearly started a fight with one of the clones when they mentioned his growing girth.

"Just admit it, I'm fat!" he snapped angrily.

"I-I didn't say that!" Ramjet lied, wincing at the glare the carrier was giving him. He had said it, but he couldn't stop himself before the words were out and he didn't think he would have heard him.

"Yes you did! Just because I'm getting fatter doesn't mean I can't hear anything!"

"B-Bee, he didn't mean anything by it," Skywarp said quietly, flinching when the angry carrier glared at him. "Ramjet just…" He wasn't going to admit the white seeker always lied but that would be admitting that he did call him fat. He looked up nervously as some mech to help him out.

"Bumblebee, have you thought of any designations for the sparkling?" Skyfire asked calmly.

Bee blinked, optics shuddering before he looked down at his expanding waistline. "Not really… I mean, I guess I wanna wait until she's here to name her?"

"There's nothing wrong with that," he smiled. He noted the looks of relief on the faceplates of the others and just smiled. He was more than aware that many carriers experienced mood swings during stages of carrying and knew several ways to calm them down. "Have you been dreaming about her more?"

"Some. I defiantly know she's gonna be a seeker," he smiled, resting one servo on his chassis and the other on his slightly swollen midsection. "Whenever I'm outside, I can feel her spark getting excited and it makes me excited, too."

"Not even in her protoform and she's feeling the sky hunger," Slipstream stated where she was lounging on the tire chair, listening to the conversation with only one audio. She had opted to stay along with her two brothers as the others were finishing up construction on Dinobot Island as well as patrolling the city. It had been strangely quiet as of late and she didn't not like it one bit.

"Sky hunger?"

"Its what seekers experience when they hadn't been flying enough," the large shuttle explained. "If a seeker were to be grounded for long periods of time, they would begin to feel a desire to be out in the skies once more. Sometimes, being outside is just enough to quell the desire but it's not the same. Think of it as though you were unable to drive about your cityscape."

"I think I get it…" Never mind he wouldn't be able to do that until after the sparkling was out of him but he could go without transforming for a bit longer. They all looked up when they heard a ping in the communication center even as Slipstream went over to answer it.

"What?" she asked boredly.

"Gee, someone woke up on the wrong side of the berth this morning," Bulkhead grumbled from his end of the line.

"What do you want, bolts for processor?"

"Just calling to let Bee know we're done here on the island, so he can start moving his stuff in today if he wants."

"Its done?" Bumblebee couldn't help but feel excited and nervous at the same time. Excited because he wanted to see what his new home would look like, but nervous because he would be basically living by himself. _'Do, Do I really have to move?'_

The seekers could tell the carrier was uncomfortable and telling the green Autobot they would call him back close the comm link. Slipstream, in an epic rare mood, quietly knelt before him. "What's wrong?"

The scout blinked, looking at the seekers sitting around him and vented softly. "I, don't want to be there alone," he admitted quietly. He learned he couldn't lie to them, they seemed to know his moods better than he did and expressed more than once that they just wanted to help him. "I, really like it here with everyone but over there… I'm not gonna have all of this."

"Bumblebee…" Skywarp quietly sat next to him and slowly wrapped his arm around his shoulders, hugging him to his side. "We want to protect the both of you, and this way, you can enjoy as much sky as you want without any Decepticons around."

"I-I know, but…" He could feel soft sobs started to build, already feeling the crushing loneliness weighing down on him. He wordlessly leaned into the frame at his side even as the femme seeker reached out, rubbing his arm gently. Ramjet said nothing but they all wanted to make sure he was happy as well as safe. Skyfire watched them although he said nothing, thinking that despite the short amount of time he had been here he knew things were going to change; he could see the impact the minibot had on the bots here but he hated to think what the Decepticons had planned. It had been too quiet as of late and what's more, he realized that as of late Starscream had been going off by himself for long periods of time. He had tried following him once but the seeker was built for speed and he lost him quickly. When he returned he waited but the seeker never mentioned having seen him. He kept it to himself, not wanting to cause any unnecessary friction among themselves.

It was later, much later, once Bumblebee had calmed the seekers helped him in packing his things and load them into the cargo bay of the shuttle, Needless to say, Bumblebee had been unsure about it but Skyfire merely said he did not mind and had even subspaced as much as his mass as he could. He also offered to take him to the island as well. Slipstream with a gentleness her brothers had never seen, encouraged him to and promised she would be flying with them. The minibot felt like crying and embraced the femme tightly. For once, the seeker didn't curse or threaten or strike him, she just hugged him back but promised the other two a world of pain if they said anything.

"This is, really weird," the minibot said as he sat into the shuttle's interior. He had never been in another bot before and it was—well, it was weird!

"You are not the first to feel uncomfortable about being transported in such a way," Skyfire reassured him as he flew to the island, Slipstream taking the lead. "My original program was to lead research teams to distant words and even delivery."

"Really? Is that how you meet Psyche?"

"As a matter of fact, it was. I was rarely on Cybertron as it were, I spent nearly all of my cycles leading research teams to different planets and locations. It was simple and enjoyable, but war was coming and I refused to participate in it. Unfortunately, I was not given a choice… if I would not be a soldier, I would act as their transportation." He had not enjoyed that, the soldiers were crude and abrasive, and they did not bother to hold back on their comments of him being a Decepticon sympathizer. "I was ordered to bring in troops for reinforcement on a neutral planet and to take any injured back to Cybertron for treatment, but the comm broadcast was false. I tried to tell the soldiers that something was wrong but they ordered me to take them regardless. When we arrived I refused to land, I saw no sign of Autobot soldiers or anything indicating that they had even been there."

 _"_ _What are you doing?! The planet is right there, are your optic sensors glitched?!"_

 _"_ _I am functioning at full capacity-"_

 _"_ _Then land, you 'Con sympathizer!"_

 _"_ _With due respect, I am locating any Cybertronium signals on the planet's surface," the shuttle said as calmly as possible. He heard the heavy peds of the soldier moved to the front, leaning none too gently on the front console to peer at his scanner._

 _"…_ _we still gotta land, the comm link said there were casualties," he said gruffly._

 _"_ _Even so my scans should still be able to pick up energy residue." However, against his better judgement Skyfire began to slowly descend, circling around as he did so. He ignored the sounds of the soldiers in his bay shouting things, making certain to keep his scanners on full alert for any signal whatsoever. The mechs were ready to jump from the cargo bay but only the stir order from their commanding officer barely kept them from forcing the bay door open._

 _Barely, being the key word._

 _The officer looked at the scanner then out of the windows but he saw nothing. "Our soldiers are hiding, and doing a slagging good job about it." Venting harshly he turned to join the others mechs but not before throwing another order. "Just land, you're useless on the battlefield anyway."_

 _'_ _Battlefield…' That was right, according to the comm feed the soldiers were undergoing heavy firepower from the Decepticons, and while the planet wasn't exactly small there was no sign of fighting at all, as though the surface had rarely been touched. Once more he ran his scans but he was detecting no spark signal at all. He wasn't even picking up a distress signal. The realization hit him just as he felt his cargo bay doors opening._

 _"'_ _Bout fragging time!" one of the mechs muttered as the doors began to slowly open. "Now let's go kick some Con aaaaaahhhhh!" He wasn't the only one to cry out in alarm as the large seeker suddenly increased his speed before taking off, leaving the planet as quickly as he could. The cargo doors closed, catching several mechs just before they were lost in the vacant planet._

 _"_ _What the frag just happened?!"_

 _"_ _Told ya this glitch is a sympathizer!"_

 _"_ _Skyfire! What is your malfunction?!" the commander shouted, trying to get to his peds but something suddenly strike the seeker in the side, hard enough to not only jar him but everyone else. "What the?!"_

 _"_ _It was a trap!" the transformed mech shouted, trying to out maneuver the sudden increase of seekers that seemed to appear out of nowhere. "I'm surrounded by Decepticons, they were waiting for us to land and no doubt ambush us." He bit back the cry of pain as another strike hit him in the side. He may have not been a fighter and rejected to be outfitted with weapons, his thicker than average plating could offer him some form of defense. For now, anyway._

 _The soldiers didn't know how to react but immediately they began pulling at the safety harnesses, buckling in as others ran to the bay door and hit the button. It refused to open despite the threats thrown at him so they forced it open and began opening firing at the seekers. Unfortunately it also left them open to being attacked themselves. Through it all Skyfire was determined to lose the enemy soldiers and bring the mechs back to Cybertron, focused on trying to outmaneuver the sleeker jets, he failed to realize one of the soldiers had pulled out a plasma grenade and was prepared to toss it when a laser strike hit him just below his servo. A lucky shot but the grenade was dropped and a few kliks later, it exploded and took out all the soldiers._

 _Errors flashed across his screen, his systems were starting to fail him, he could feel his processor trying to force him into emergency stasis but he held it back. Thankfully with the vacuum of space any fires from the blast was snuffed out but the cold space was seeing into his still functioning system, causing another slew of errors to pop up._

 _'_ _P-Primus… Ne-Need to… es-cap-p-p-pe…' he thought then cursed when he felt his thruster stall and go out. 'Fragging Pitt!' His cursing grew when he realized the seekers not had him surrounded and one of them had entered his destroyed holding. He kept silent, hoping that the threat would think he was a space ship and not a seeker._

 _The soldier looked in, peering at the greying frames scattered about. He moved to the front but there was no one sitting at the controls. "All clear, commander."_

 _Skyfire couldn't hear who the commander was, just that he was inside, stepping atop of the deceased mechs. He quickly ran through his system and found that if he directed all of his remaining fuel and even the emergency energon he had stored into his tanks, it would give him a boost to get away from them. Unfortunately his targeting system and scanners were completely fried which meant once he took out, he would be flying blind. It took him a klik to accept it and gave the command. It didn't take long for everything to empty and giving the command once more, activated his thrusters. Over the roar of his engines coming to life he heard the sudden 'squawk' at the commander was jetted out of his holding, and he winced when his larger frame smashed through the jets still surrounding him but they weren't trying to follow him. He let his thrusters run hot, burning through the fuel more rapidly but there was more and more distance between them. Even as the fuel was gone he diverted his energon reserves. His system once more warned him of his damage and this time he allowed himself to fall into emergency stasis. He never realized where he was going, and never realized he was in a part of the galaxy he had never visited, or that he was heading for a strange looking planet. So deep in stasis he never felt the impact as he hit the ground hard, skidding along and badly damaging his wings. All he knew was blessed darkness._

 _When he awoke from stasis he was confused but took a few kliks to realize that he was online, that there were several cables and wires hooked up to him in his medical ports, and that he was laying on a strange berth with someone close by. For a moment he panicked, thinking the Decepticons had found him but a servo came up and gently stroked his servo, the touch calm and soothing. If this was the enemy, they would not have tried to soothe him like this being was doing._

 _"_ _It's okay, you're systems had been shut down until your self-repair has finished," the being said. It was femme, that much he could tell but he frowned when he realized the servo touching him was warm metal. Was he on Cybertron? He tried asking but he flinched as he heard a burst of static. The servo slid down and covered his, squeezing it. He wanted to sob in relief as his own digits managed to curl around hers, squeezing at tightly as he could._

 _"_ _Just rest, you're safe here. I'll make sure of it," she whispered. Her other servo came up, brushing along an uninjured part of his wing before stroking his forehelm. The touch was soothing he couldn't help but lean into it even as he drifted into recharge once more._

"Is that how you meet Psyche?" the yellow mech asked quietly even as he looked around, trying to see if he could see any sign of damage or repair.

"Yes. She was the first bot I saw when I awoke from stasis. Because of her the natives of the planet were able to repair me and made sure my systems were running properly during my time in stasis," he explained. "I learned that I had landed on a neutral planet called Torkulon, and the inhabitants, organic beings called Torkulii, were more than welcoming to me. Psyche was with me the entire time and in her I had gained a friend."

"I'm glad you two got to meet," Bee smiled, leaning his helm back. "Do you think… I could visit Torkulon one day?"

Skyfire smiled as though it couldn't be seen. "I think that is a wonderful idea. The Torkulii would welcome you with open servos." Banking on the air his scanners beeped and his smile grew. "We'll be arriving on Dinobot Island shortly. Bee didn't say anything but he reached up to gently rub his slightly protruding stomach plating.

* * *

Starscream was irritated as he flew through the darken skies of the cityscape, trying hard not to dwell on his latest "meeting" with Megatron. So far the Warlord hadn't had him do anything but he kept stating that he would have him getting things he needed and reminding him if he failed to do as he ordered, he would go through with his threats. It was enough for his null rays to warm up but he just barely managed to keep from blasting him right there on the spot. As soon as he was cleared he opened his comm links and received a message from Slipstream that the temporary home had been finished and Bumblebee had moved in.

 _"_ _Don't think I haven't noticed you taking off with no warning, or being gone for megacycles on end, and I'm gonna find out if I have to follow you. So stop fragging around before you upset Bumblebee!"_ she snapped in her message.

 _'_ _Insolent femme. She's been a thorn in my side since the day she was created,'_ he snarled but banked on the air once the island came to view. He used his scanners to find the cave and flying in low transformed and landed. The cave looked very primitive and didn't look like it would keep anyone out but as he entered his systems picked up the hum of machinery. He paused as his night vision picked out the curled up form of the aggressive Dinobot called Grimlock taking up nearly the entire passageway. His vents were cycling air quietly as he recharged. And it he wanted to go around the massive beast he would have to press himself along the walls. Snarling silently he do so, wincing as the rough texture craped at his sensitive wings and he froze ever now and then when the beast shifted, bringing his sharp denta much too close for his liking but he was passed him and turned—only to swallow another curse. The femme of the trio was also sprawled a short distance away, on her backplates, also deep in recharge snoring, and perched on a small leverage of rock was the flying mech, his helm hidden beneath one of his wings. They were all in deep recharge but it certainly wasn't making it easy for him to move. He wasn't going to pass the femme on the front end, he didn't want to be stabbed by her deadly sharp horns, but as he stepped over her tail she shifted, rolling onto her front and settled with a heavy sigh. Unfortunately as she turned her tail came up and hit the seeker right in the cod piece none to gently.

The seeker turned an interesting shade of red, one servo clamped tightly over his mouth plates and the other grabbing the injured plating. it hurt, so very very much and he was prepared to scream even insult he could think of but he forced himself to move and waited until he was far enough away from the beasts to let all the air from his system. He didn't shout, didn't scream, didn't aim his guns at the beasts and open fire, but he did mumble a slew of obscenities under his vents and looked down. He didn't appear damaged but he did walk a bit unsteadily as he neared the back of the caves.

Along the way he discovered smaller tunnels leading to other places, such as a small communication center as well as a sitting area with a large entertainment screen on the wall along with some furniture to fill him and his trine, another of storage as well and locked crates he assumed held energon and even oil and jet fuel. He was mildly surprised that they were taking in his needs as well but he noted a tunnel that he detected fresh air at the end. An escape tunnel—no, multiple escape tunnels should the need arise.

 _'_ _So these Autofools can think ahead.'_ Now he was a bit more impressed and felt the tug at his spark. He moved down a larger tunnel, feeling the tug grow stronger. There was a door to this end and as he pressed his servo to it it lit up and the door opened. He stepped in but froze at the sight. This time he didn't bother to keep his null rays from warming up as the sight before him.

In the "room" was a very spacious berth, one that would easily accommodate his wings with room left over. Laying in the berth was Bumblebee, systems running low, vents cycling air quietly as he recharged. He was covered with a blanket, feeling at ease but he followed a black and gold servo that was draped over him, followed it up the arm to the mech laying behind him, atop the blanket but was much too close to the minibot's frame than he would have liked. Before Starscream could open fire he watched as the helm lifted up and he knew that he was awake. "You-!" he hissed but stopped when the mech pointed to the other figure sleeping in the berth alongside the carrier. The yellow mech was curled up against the chassis of the femme neutral, who had her servos wrapped around him close. She was also deep in recharge, vents cycling air softly but unlike the mech she was beneath the blanket. Her servos had pulled the carrier close, as though protecting him in his sleep. The seeker halted his words but turned to the ninja and immediately hit him with a comm link.

 ** _~What the frag are you during in the same berth with Bumblebee?!~_**

 ** _~We were recharging,~_** he said simply but slowly, carefully sat up. **_~Bumblebee didn't feel comfortable sleeping alone and asked us to stay with him until he drifted to recharge.~_**

 ** _~The femme I understand, but why are you in the berth with him?~_**

 ** _~He was trying to wait for you.~_** The guns began powering down but the wings were stiff and hiked high up on his backplates. **_~When Bumblebee arrived he was disappointed that you weren't here. He didn't say anything but we could tell.~_** He paused when his teammate murmured something and shifted closer to the femme, who in turn tightened her servos around him. **_~Where were you?~_**

 ** _~That's none of your business,~_** he quickly snapped and made his way to where the mech was sitting, resisting the urge to pull him from the berth. ~get out, before I throw you out.~

Prowl was not a confrontational mech, he didn't allow his emotions to overrule him, but he stubbornly crossed his servos over his chassis and refused to move. **_~No.~_**

Starscream sputtered before narrowing his optics and pointed at eh door. **_~Get out!~_** He refused to move and he could feel an optic twitching. **_~Now!~_**

 ** _~Make me.~_** There was no denying how amusing it was to watch the former SIC of the Decepticons turned almost violet in rage, how his entire frame twitched as he tried to keep quiet. But before he could even think of laying back down he winced as he felt something equivalent of a servo striking him in the back of his helm sharply. He saw the seeker pitch which only meant he felt the same thing.

 ** _~If you two want to act like sparklings take it outside,~_** came a very irritated feminine tone. Both mechs turned to see watch as one blue-green optic opened, glaring at them in warning. When they tried to argue that they were not acting like sparklings she quirked an optic ridge at them. They immediately fell silent and Prowl stood from the berth. Psyche vented softly and moving slowly and carefully, removed her servos from the minibot. Bumblebee stirred in his recharge, reaching for her but she pressed a soft kiss to the top of his helm and tucked the blanket around him. He settled with a vent of content which allowed her to slip from the berth. Looking at the mechs he jerked her helm to the door and the two had no choice but to follow, looking like two younglings ready to receive a scolding from their creator.

 ** _~Listen you two, you don't have to like each other, you don't have to patrol together, but by Primus' will you will get along at least in the presence of Bee!~_** she hissed angrily. **_~I am not going to make him chose who to side with and if I have to I will even weld the two of you together until you are forced to get along. Are we clear on this matter?~_**

 ** _~Crystal. Ma'am!~_** They quickly added when she narrowed her optics. Venting once more she opened the door and waited for Prowl to leave before turning to the seeker.

 ** _~Bee was waiting for you, next time don't make him worry.~_** With that she closed the link and left, the door closing silently behind her.

Starscream thought the only mech he was (secretly) fear was Megatron, the warlord who was impossibly to destroy. But this femme was so fierce, so unpredictable, he secretly wondered if perhaps she could take him down herself. Shaking his helm from the idea he moved to the berth, slipping beneath the blanket where Psyche had vacated. Almost immediately the carrier pressed into him, seeking the warmth of his frame. Angling his wings behind him he held him close, gently stroking claws along his bright frame. Once more he wanted to tell him what he was doing, why we was away for cycles on end, that he was doing this to protect them, but if he did and Megatron found out, there would be no stopping him.

 _'_ _I refuse to lose either of you,'_ he murmured, pulling him even closer. He was too wound up to recharge but it didn't matter as he felt a small yellow tipped servo stroke along the bottom edge of a wing. His wing pressed into the touch and he could tell by the gentle hum of systems starting up that he was awake. "I didn't mean to disturb your recharge," he said lowly.

"So 'kay, was waitin' for 'ou," Bee murmured sleepily, optics opening then onlining. Tilting his helm back he smiled up at him, ready to tell him the good news. "Psyche an' Ratchet checked on our sparkling. She moved to the protoform an' they said she's growin' bigger every solar cycle."

"Really?" Seeing him nod he watched as he took his servo and pressed it to his the protruding plating, he gently pressed down and sure enough he could feel a thick mess down there. What's more, he could feel warmth that hadn't been therefore. But the longer he felt around the strong the tug at his own spark. In the non-existence light of the room he could see a very faint light coming from the bump and he didn't need his night vision to see it. Starscream felt his optics widen and now he was both servos pressed to the mound, gently pushing the carrier to lay on his backplates so he could hover over him. Without realizing his chamber split open and for every pulse of his spark, the faint light did the same. It was as though their sparks were communicating with one another. Smiling he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to the malleable mesh. "Our sparkling," he whispered, pressing another kiss but he moved upward, placing more kisses as his servos moved to stroke the minibot's sides, feeling him shifting beneath him. He could hear his fans kicking on with a low hum and continued moving up; soon he was faceplates even with the brightly shining spark, the soft blue light shining brightly. He could make out a thin tendril going down which no doubt led to the sparkling's own spark. He moved over so he was straddling the smaller mech, enjoying the dark blush staining his faceplates and the growing hum of his cooling fans. He didn't have to ask him if he was enjoying this but he continued to move slowly as he lowered himself down, being mindful not to rest his entire mass down and moaned as their sparks reached out to one another.

Bee couldn't stop the moan and he didn't bother trying. He had missed this closeness, the pleasure, missed everything about this. The urge to interface wasn't as strong as before but it had been a while since Starscream had touched him and he missed it. He slowly lifted his servos and wrapped them around his neck cables, lifting himself up to pressed their lip plates together. **_~It's been too long,~_** he moaned to him, arching into his touch as he continued to feel the powerful pulses from his spark.

 ** _~I'm sorry I kept you waiting,~_** the seeker moaned back, deepening the kiss he gently nudged his stabilizers open and knelt between them, trying very hard not to wince as he still sensitive cod piece rubbed against the heated armor plating. he broke the kiss with a quiet gasp, his vents struggling to keep the air cycling through his system as he slowly pushed himself up onto his servos, their sparks pulling back into their respective casings. "I truly am sorry, for not being there for you," he admitted quietly.

"Starscream…" he wanted to ask if anything was wrong, if he could help, but the last thing he had asked (nagged) him about it nearly led into an explosive argument. The seeker had left and didn't return for nearly a full solar cycle, leaving Bee alone and he hated it. He had honestly thought he had abandoned him and when he returned he promised the seeker he wouldn't ask him anymore as long as he didn't leave him. The seeker said nothing but he did hold him tightly, nearly locking them in his old room. They didn't do anything except letting their sparks mingle. Shifting so he was sitting up on his elbow joints he smiled up at him, optics darkening in rising arousal as he hugged his pelvic armor with his bent stabilizers. "You can, make it up to me," he said softly, feeling just a little bit embarrassed.

The seeker felt the energon rush through his cables and even though he was still sensitive down between his stabilizers, he wasn't going to deny his sultry little carrier what he wanted. "Anything you want, my sweet little Bee," he murmured and leaned down to kiss him once more, licking at his lip plates before darting in for a taste, growling softly as he let out an eager moan. The distinctive sound of plating opening was like music to his audios as he brought incredible pleasure to his sweet carrier.

Starscream used a corner of the berthsheet to clean the two of them up, resisting the urge to use his glossia. Bumblebee was already deep in recharge, a satisfied smile on his lip plates. Covering them with the cleaner part of the sheet he lay down but smiled as the mech turned to face him and snuggled up close to him, wrapping both stabilizers and servos around him, holding him close and tucking his helm under his chin. He didn't hesitate to wrap his own servos around him, holding him just as close but he had a nagging feeling that they were being watched and it send an icy chill up his strut. He didn't like this feeling but why would the Autobots place a hidden camera here?

 _'_ _They still do not trust me,'_ he thought bitterly but hearing the gently rumble of the frame pressing into his own, the steady rise and fall of his chassis as he vented air, the pulsing sensations coming from not only the Autobot's spark but that from their developing sparkling, made him relax just long enough for his recharge cycle to start up. It didn't matter if the Autobots still didn't trust them, he never gave them a reason to but as long as Bumblebee trusted him, he would do everything to protect the both of them. They, were all he had life thanks to this horrible war.

 ** _~I swear on my spark and on the AllSpark itself, l will do anything to protect you both,~_** he vowed as his optics dimmed before closing, soon falling into a deep recharge himself. In the darkness of the room the fragment said to made from the spark of Primus himself pulsed softly before dying down, leaving the two mechs to sleep peacefully.

 **Author's Notes:** This is a day, 2 days late as I really wanted to post this in time for New Year's but it just wasn't happening. So first, good-bye 2017 and welcome 2018! (whistles as she pops firecrackers). Unfortunately I don't celebrate New Year's like I used to when I was younger/little, and due to the major increase of hours at work I got home, ate a late dinner with family, and I was out like around 8-8:30 in the evening. I know, I'm such a party pooper but I really wanted to sleep.

To make up for the lateness I added some glorious smut (depending on where you're reading this) and added an interesting backstory on Skyfire. I kinda wish they would have included him in TF: Animated as I always liked him, a mech who refused to fight regardless of what side he was on unless he was really pushed into it. Oh! I also recently finished watching TF: Prime and TF: Robots in Disguise on Netflix and I loved them both! What I didn't like was that Netflix doesn't have the final season of TF: RID so have to look for it somewhere. And needless to say I have been inspired to write a TF: P story but that won't be coming up until this story is finished.

Oh yeah, one more thing I just wanna mention. If I thought writing how the jettwins speak and Jazz's accent was bad, Blitzwing is the worse! I do not like writing accents or trying to write them as I hear it and had to refer to favorite fanfics and even inline to get an idea of it! It's so freaking annoying and even reading it I had to stop myself from going in to correct it. So if you are having trouble understanding it, I apologize and hope it is still legible.

Alright my fellow readers/writers, I am going to draw this chapter to a close. I hope you enjoyed the latest edition to "Nightmare" and I hope you will continue to stay with me as I continue to update this. Just to let you know, next chapter Starscream will find out what Megatron wants him to retrieve, stuff and certain bots begin to go missing New Detroit, and loyalty is tested in ways the Autobots never saw coming. Least, I'm hoping to cramp that all in the next chapter. See y'all later!


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** Here we are another chapter! Two new chapters in the new year and it's February! … I better pick up the pace! Nothing much to add since I have no idea what to say but below if the most updated poll results:

Prowl: 20

Starscream: 16

Optimus Prime: 4

Other: 5 (Bulkhead: 1; Skywarp: 1; Sentinel: 2)

Ninja bot is still in the leader, followed by 'Screamy in second. Will this continue on or will someone else take the lead? You tell me! Please, enjoy the chapter!

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

No one said this new living arrangement was going to be easy, though more than one bot had strong hopes that it would. Arguments were always flying around between the Dinobots and the jet fleet (who refused to be called Starscream's Personal Seeker Armada) and any unfortunate mech that tried to separate them. Even Ratchet was not spared so he gave up but not before swearing up and down that he was not going to repair them and they could rust for all that he cared. This day, for once, was actually peaceful and Bumblebee was outside enjoying it. That was another thing that he changed; ever since the sparkling moved from Bee's spark chamber down into the protoform his gestation tank was growing bigger. He had asked repeatedly if perhaps he was carrying more than one but scans confirmed it was just one sparkling. Ratchet had brought up it could be because half of the CNA was from a seeker, the protoform was taking on that frame. It just confirmed the carrier's dreams.

 _'_ _Wonder who she'll resemble more in the faceplates,'_ he smiled as he lightly traced his digits along the malleable mesh. He smiled softly as he felt a gentle pulse, closing his optics and leaned his helm back so it connected with the warm bulk of Snarl.

The femme Dinobot cracked an optic open but seeing that the minibot carrier wasn't moving closed it once more. Since he had come to the island to stay she had been keeping an optic on him much to the chagrin of Grimlock. The other femme, Psyche, had said some femmes and carriers do that, help a carrier and watch over them so there was nothing wrong. Even Swoop wanted to help, but the de facto leader of the Dinobots-

 _'_ _Grimlock glitch,'_ she thought to herself and pushed that annoying thought process away. She decided to follow the carrier into a brief recharge, enjoying the warmth of the planet's sun as it warmed their plating.

Watching from his tree-top vantage point Swoop was enjoying the warmth from the sun along with the slight breeze that drifted over his sensitive plates as well. He and Snarl were acting as the carrier's protectors and they were proud to do so. The yellow car was nice and they let him go where he wanted as well as keeping their distance. The planes were not so nice but the yellow car would yelled at them to be nice which made the Dinobots smile. He didn't think of them for long, feeling the urge to slip into a light recharge as well but he felt something on the wind and lifted his helm. He carefully sat up, feeling the wind once more his optics shuddered as he focused off in the distance. He saw a plane heading for them but from so far away he couldn't tell if he knew it or not.

 _'_ _Me Swoop, find out,'_ he thought, seamlessly transforming he took to the air, letting the planet's wind currents lift him into the air, wings moving silently.

On such plane Psyche was sitting at the cock pit, skimming the data pad in her servos. There was no need to be there since Skyfire was doing the flying but she also knew the two Primes still had much on their processors. Not to mention she didn't want to be reminded that no one trusted them, not even her.

 _'_ _And yet here I am, bringing them to the one bot who has the most reason not to trust them,'_ she thought and subspaced the pad, taking a moment to rub at her optics. "Primus…"

"Are you alright, Psyche?" came the soft rumble over the speakers.

"Yes and no." She inhaled air deeply then released it, slumping in the pilot's seat in an undignified heap.

"… Your backstrut is going to be sore later."

She frowned and slouched down even more, crossing her servos over her chassis. "And your point?" It took her a few kliks to realize she was acting like an immature sparkling and vented softly, leaning her helm back and closing her optics. "I'm sorry, Sky… am I doing the right thing? Bringing them with me? To see Bee?"

"Do you trust them not to do anything?" She didn't answer and he took that as a cue to continue talking. "Sentinel admitted aloud that the sparkling should be deleted, never asking Bumblebee what he wanted to do. Optimus took advantage of said mech and actually caused him harm and then tried offlining you. Both are mechs who normally would be in custody but on the same account so would Bumblebee and his sparkling removed from his custody."

"And you are clearly dodging my question. I want a yes or no answer."

"What do you believe?"

"You do realize I am in the perfect position to make you barrel roll until we arrive," she threatened.

"Then you must realize you do not have your safety harness on and you dislike the vertigo that affects both of us," he calmly reminded. Being a seeker Skyfire enjoyed flying as much as he could, but the few acrobatic skills he could do he did not enjoy quite as much as his sleeker counterparts; barrel rolls were ones he did not have the tanks to support them. Oh he had tried once, and it ended up badly with him hurling his empty tanks.

The aqua blue femme frowned as she slowly straighten in her seat. She remembered the first and only time she had been in the shuttle when that had happened and that was something she never wanted to experience again. "Point taken," she whispered and leaned her helm back once more. "I won't lie, I don't fully trust them, but it's not my place to judge and the longer we keep them from doing patrols, the sooner the Decepticons will realize something is wrong and will use that to their advantage." But it didn't mean she wasn't going to keep an optic on them, she wasn't that soft-sparked.

"You just answered your question. And I agree." The larger mech was the type to apologize for the littlest thing, but the thought process never passed his processor and he did not care whether or not the two mechs agreed. Skyfire was taken from his thoughts when his scanners picked up something. For a moment he thought it was one of the seekers but the scanners were not picking up the smooth flying he had come to associate with them. It was similar to the winged organics he had seen but this was far larger and contained a spark signature. He felt like smiling (if he could). "I believe we'll be having an escort soon."

"Hmm?" Psyche blinked, peering down at console before looking out the window. She couldn't see anything and was about to ask what he had picked up when a figure flew past the window, moving too fast for her to catch. "What was that?"

"The Dinobot known as Swoop." The mech in question let out a low cry, flapping his wings harder as he followed along with the large shuttle, happy to see him but also happy to see the femme inside wave to him. Letting out another cry he flew around them once more before heading for the island, no doubt to tell everyone about their arrival. "The beings of Torkulon would enjoy seeing him in his element."

"You can have all the skies and space you want, Sky. I'll stick with the ground beneath my treds." Even if Primus were to grant her wings in addition to her tires, she would gladly give it back. She murmured something under her vents as she gently traced her digits over the console before heading to the back where the other two passengers were waiting.

Optimus and Sentinel were silent as they sat in the back of the shuttle, sitting opposite of one another. Both had been silent from the moment they left Sentinel's ship, not even asking where they were going as they followed the femme onto the large seeker's cargo bay. They wordlessly strapped the safety harness on and remained silent. They didn't look up as the femme came in and wordlessly sat next to Sentinel.

 _'…_ _this is awkward,'_ she thought. The tension was so thick it couldn't be cut with a plasma blade. Venting softly she wordlessly tugged at the harness and buckled herself in. "We're almost at Dinobot Island," she spoke up, immediately catching their attention. "Just a fair bit of warning, don't upset the Dinobots. They're taking their role as Bee's caretakers very seriously."

"We're going to see Be-Bumblebee?" Optimus asked quietly.

"I thought I just indicated that."

"The both of us?" Sentinel brought up.

"Yes, the both of you, including Skyfire and myself. So the four of us will be going to visit Bee." She paused and looked up at them before they could ask the dreaded question. "We're going because Bee has been asking about you and rather than make him relive what happened, I'm going against my objective and bringing you both to see him. Bee, is a sweet mech, sassy as the Pitt but he's got a good spark who was forced into a situation none of us could have predicted. He didn't have to go through this, he didn't have to say anything, but he did and right now he needs as much comfort and support as possible. If you two can't do that or at least be civil, then tell me now and you can wait here."

Neither of the Primes said anything for several long kliks, processor running through continuous loops before stopping. They looked up at one another, different shades of blue optics searching the other for an answer before turning to the stern-looking femme.

"We promise to be as supportive as possible," Optimus said with a slow nod.

"… I'm holding you both to it." She looked up as the shuttle began to shift, feeling the pressure as Skyfire began his descent. "By the way, if either of you do try something, anything I do will be considered merciful compared to what the Dinobots will do to you instead." The Primes said nothing, waiting for the shuttle to land.

* * *

"Me Grimlock no want cars and trucks!" the t-rex growled stubbornly, standing on the beach with the grumpy medic, servos crossed over his chassis.

"I actually agree with the oversized lizard," Thundercracker said, a frown on his faceplates. "We don't want them here."

"Listen here you slaggers, I am sick and tired of lying to Bee and if he wants to see them he can see them," Ratchet seethed behind clenched denta. To be honest he agreed with them as well but the scout would not stop asking and Psyche had promised him they would visit him in a few solar cycles.

"I don't say we send them to the Pitt if they prove to be a threat," Ramjet muttered to which the others were quick to agree.

The medic could only stare at them as they not-so-subtle discussed ways the Primes could have an "accident" while they were here he could feel his oil pressure rising. There was a dull clang as he smacked his servo onto his faceplates, wishing he was anywhere else. They needed to keep up appearances that everything was fine but there was a nagging feeling of worry. There had barely been a peep from the Decepticons and something in his struts was telling him something big was happening, and he didn't like it one bit. He removed his servo when he heard something land next to him, the sounds of gears transforming and plating folding back. "Now what?" he murmured.

"Big plane flying!" he said excitedly, pointing to where he had just from. "Me Swoop see nice femme!"

"Psyche?" Oh now he remembered, she had gone to New Detroit to get the two Primes and bring them. He was not happy about it but he had meant what he said that he didn't want to keep lying to the kid. But he wasn't looking forward to telling the seekers and Dinobots that two mechs who had basically threaten Bumblebee's spark and that of his still underdeveloped sparkling were coming to visit. "Here goes nothing," he muttered to himself as he watched the shuttle coming in.

The clearing they had created was large enough for the larger mech to land and take off, which was perfect as they didn't want to bring in any unnecessary attention to themselves. It was a miracle in itself that none of the humans seemed to notice them flying back and forth but then again they usually flew high above the clouds to be safe. Skyfire came in low, cutting back on his thrusters he landed on the short landing strip, opening the cargo bay doors even as he cut the power to his engines. As soon as it was open they could see the femme standing there, slowly making her way down the ramp. She nodded to the mechs waiting for them, stopping halfway down but turned to the cargo bay.

"You might as well come out," she called out.

The mechs were confused, wondering who she was talking to when they heard heavy ped steps. They watched as two larger, bulky frames slowly made their way out from the shadow of the cargo bay and down the ramp. When the seekers saw who it was, they instantly went on tense, null ray guns powering arm, wings arched high on their back struts and tense. Optimus froze as did Sentinel, unsure whether to continue moving forward or retreat.

"Still think this was a good idea, Psyche?" the medic asked, crossing his servos over his chassis.

"Don't you start either," she grumbled, making her way down the ramp and moved to the side. Listening to the Primes following her she nodded to Skyfire who transformed into his primary form. "Look, I invited them to can see how Bumblebee was doing. They both promise to be nice and not do something stupid like threaten Bee or the sparkling."

"I trust them," Ramjet sneered, the others murmuring in agreement.

Skyfire chuckled as he nodded to the seekers but looked around, not seeing the carrier or the femme Dinobot. "Where's Bumblebee and Snarl?" he asked in slight concern.

"They went for a walk," Skywarp said quietly, looking away from the two Primes as one of his wings gave a slight twitch. "Bumblebee, yelled at us for hovering and stormed off. Snarl followed him."

Psyche nodded and looked around before gesturing to the pterodactyl. "Swoop, I want you to go find them and bring them to the caves. Ratchet and I need to check on his sparkling and his spark as well."

"Me Swoop find!" And with no further explanation jumped into the air, transforming as he took off.

Psyche took the lead and led the two Primes to the cave that had been set up at Bumblebee's temporary home for the time begin as well as discussing things such as patrols and how things were doing in New Detroit. One of the most concerning things was that there was hardly any sign of the Decepticons lately and it was making everyone nervous. No one understood why they were laying low and when Sentinel thought to ask Starscream the seekers admitted that he was not around and was usually gone for days at a time.

"But he comes back," Skywarp said quietly, trying not to flinch when all optics were on him. "He-He always co-comes b-b-back."

"Why haven't you said anything?" Optimus asked with a frown.

"Last time we checked, we didn't follow your command, _Autobot!_ " Thundercracker sneered, wings fanned out, trying to be intimidating.

"Has he mentioned anything when he comes back? Like what he does or where he goes?" Psyche asked but the seekers shook their helms. "Have you tried following him?"

"Our lovely sister Slipstream tried once, but even at her fastest she wasn't able to catch up to our elusive creator," Sunstorm spoke up brightly.

"Something isn't adding up," Ratchet grumbled, not liking it one bit. "I say we make him tell us what's going on."

"Can't believe I'm actually saying this, but I agree with the outdated medic," Sentinel said with a frown. "What if he's secretly meeting Megatron?" Not the wisest thing to say as all the seekers rounded on him, yelling at him, calling him a "monstrous glitch" and saying that their creator would never betray the carrier like that. The navy blue Prime argued back but they were just yelling back and forth, looking ready to have an all-out brawl when the seekers immediately stopped and turned as one to face the opening of the cave.

"What's with all the yelling?" Bumblebee asked sleepily, pausing to stretch his servos high above his helm, feeling his backstrut release a soft pop. Behind him Snarl and Swoop were bringing up the rear.

"Nothing just a hissy fit," Psyche said and nodded to him. "You look like you had a good recharge."

"It was a really nice day out, I almost didn't want to wake up," he admitted. He looked around the mechs and smiled when he saw Ratchet and didn't hesitate to walk over to the white and red medic. "Hey docbot! You finally made it!" he grinned happily.

"Somebot's gotta make sure you're still functioning," he smiled and paused momentarily when the smaller mech hugged him briefly. "Also here to check your sparkling. Any pain or discomfort?"

"No. Not really, I mean my backstrut kinda hurts now and then but according to the data pad Psyche left me that's normal, right?"

"It is, but just to be safe I'll perform a thorough scan." Patting his shoulder he made to lead him into the cave where they had set up a small examination room, but he grunted when the scout suddenly stopped and he walked into him. He opened his derma plates to ask what was wrong but he realized he was staring at the two Prime, frozen where he stood. _'Scrap,'_ he hissed to himself.

Optimus knew what he had done was wrong, there was no excuse for it, and he had hoped he could talk with the yellow minibot but the way he was looking at him showed he was terrified. He took a step forward, to ask him how he was doing but he watched as the scout actually stepped back, running into the CMO, flinching in fear. He quietly took a step back, looking away. Vents seem to have stalled, the air tense and stifling, but the CMO gently guided the carrier to the examination room with his servos on his shoulders, placing his bulkier frame between him and the red and blue Prime as they walked past him. It didn't escape anyone's notice as yellow servos moved protectively over his extended stomach plates.

 _'…_ _maybe this was a bad idea,'_ the femme neutral thought to herself, resisting the urge to rub the back of her neck cables, knowing they were stiff from tension. "Grimlock, I would like you and the Dinobots patrol the island. Seekers, I would for you four to do the same but try and get a hold of Starscream. Please." Normally she was met with arguing and complaining but the mechs in questions nodded and moved out of the cave, transforming silently as they obeyed her orders. She turned to the two primes and gestured to the entertainment room where the entertainment screen and communication center was located. "You two, have a seat in the meantime while we check on Bee and his sparkling."

"Alright." For once Sentinel didn't try to argue that a neutral had no right to order him around, that he was a Prime and demanded to be treated as such; instead he moved towards the room, guiding a still quiet Optimus into the room. It didn't take long for the entertainment screen to be turned on to a random channel.

Skyfire was silent, having watched everything going on. He could also tell his friend was conflicted but he knew better to say anything. Psyche was the type who hated to admit when she made a mistake and pointing it out was never a solution. He moved towards her and reached out to gently squeeze her shoulder. She looked up at him for several kliks before giving him a weak smile, reaching over to cover his servo with her own, squeezing briefly. "I'll be outside if you need me."

"Thanks, Sky." Watching him go she silently headed into the examination room.

Bumblebee was sitting on the end of the simple berth, idly kicking a ped back and forth lightly. Ratchet was going over the small scanner in his servo, making sure it was working as he also prepared the instruments needed. Psyche came over, holding up a data pad with his medical files encrypted on it. "So what are you two docbots gonna do?" he asked them.

"We're going to check on the protoform as well as your spark. Now that the sparkling has moved down, the diagnostic scans are going to become more frequent," Psyche explained. "So be prepared for more visits."

"I don't mind. I mean the Dinobots are cool and the seekers are really trying, but I miss everyone back in New Detroit," he admitted, affectionately rubbing at his stomach. He winced when his backstrut gave a twinge of discomfort. "Was kinda hoping she would take after my frame, but long as she's healthy I'll be happy."

"Isn't that the most important thing? Here, lay back so you're more comfortable." Helping him lay back Psyche reclined the berth then helped place Bee's peds into the stir ups she pulled up. She could tell he was embarrassed about it, the way it left him just slightly exposed but it was better than having everybot in here for this. Seeing that he was comfortable as could be Psyche moved to the side and picked up another piece of machinery with several wires hanging from it. She moved back to the yellow mech's side and inserted the wires into the medical ports where they belonged. "Vitals are looking good," she read on the screen.

"Alright. Let's begin then." Ratchet was professional as he instructed Bumblebee to spread his stabilizers further and moved his frame farther down the berth. "I'm going to insert this tool inside and it'll connect to your gestation tank," he explained as he showed the carrier a flexible and semi-thick cable in his servos. "It's gonna show us how the protoform is going."

"Is it gonna hurt?" Bee asked, trying to relax and looking away as the docbot applied lubricant to the cable and his valve, trying very hard not to move.

"It shouldn't, but I rather do this first." The CMO never thought he would be doing this for a member of his own team, but he was still a medic and he was not going to just leave this to chance. Once he was sure Bee's valve and the cable was well lubricated, he removed his digits and carefully, slowly pushed the cable inside. Psyche took over speaking to Bee to distract him from the cable, explaining that she was also going to check his spark and his systems to make sure he was taking in plenty of energon to support both him and his sparkling. Even though the end of the cable was buried deep into the minibot's valve, there was a barely audible click as it connected to the gestation tank and an image was slowly clearing up on the screen. "How ya feelin', kid?"

"Really weird," the minibot admitted, resisting the urge to snap his stabilizers close. It didn't hurt, but it did feel weird and he wanted it out, like, right now out!

"It's okay Bee, just continue cycling air slowly and stay relaxed," the femme smiled, covering his servo with her own and giving it a squeeze. He nodded but clutched at her servo tightly. They waited and soon they could see Ratchet's optics widen as he started at the small screen on the device the cable was hooked up to. "Ratchet?"

"… I can see it," he whispered, sounding in awe before he let a small smile grace his derma plating. Looking at his patient and friend he turned the screen so they could see what he was seeing. There, curled up in the tank was a small form, limbs curled up, a dark silver gray color and with a few taps on the screen they were presented a 3D image of the developing sparkling, and could see two tiny nubs on its back plates. Bee wanted to ask what that was by a voice spoke up, startling him and everyone else in the examination room.

"It's a seekerling," Starscream vented quietly, slowly moving forward, optics never leaving the screen. He stopped at the carrier's side, his clawed servo curling around a yellow one as it reached for him. "You were right… we're, going to have a seekerling…"

Psyche moved closer to the medic, reading the medical jargon he was reading and smiled at one piece of data from the thorough scans. "You're gonna have a _femme_ seekerling," she said and smiled at the two creators. "Looks like your dreams were on point, Bee; you are definitely going to have a femme." He just smiled even as he squeezed the servos tightly.

"Bitlet's getting bigger, not sure how much bigger she'll get but I'll count that as a good thing," the medic said as he save multiple images, running more scans to make sure that there were no abnormalities that he could detect. "I'm gonna detach the cable, so don't move until I tell you."

"Okay." Bee barely noticed as the cable was removed, then pushed himself up (when he was told to do so) so he was sitting comfortably but he was still looking at the image on the screen. There wasn't a lot of fine detail, but he was committing it all to memory and smiled. This was his sparkling, and his little femme was going to a flier like her sire, a true seeker.

"Okay Bee, I need you to open your chest plates so I can check your spark," Psyche spoke up, nodding to him. "And before you ask, I'll upload the images for you to view whenever you want."

"I'd really like that," he smiled. Giving the command his chassis slid open and his spark was in full view. He squeezed the clawed servo even tightly and felt a sense of security as the digits tightened around his own. The scanning was faster and soon he was allowed to close his chestplates, once more hiding his spark from view.

"Good news, your spark is still feeding energy to your sparkling. There's still a connection but it won't break off until the actual birth. By then the sparkling's own spark should be strong enough to sustain a proper life cycle but that doesn't mean she won't need you."

"What exactly does that mean?" Starscream asked with a slight narrowing of his optics.

"It means the bitlet will still seek out the carrier's own spark for security, comfort, everything," Ratchet explained where he was cleaning up the tools and his servos. "Sparklings are heavily dependent on their carrier for their needs, but should anything happen to the carrier, those duties fall onto the creator. Its how family units create bonds to one another." The seeker said nothing but he did have a very pensive look on his faceplates even as he continued to hold the yellow servo in his own.

"You're done, Bee. But I don't recommend transforming since the sparkling is larger than we anticipated and rest when you can," Psyche said, rubbing his shoulder she and the CMO left, leaving them alone. Neither of the mechs said anything and Bumblebee was concerned. He was also conflicted about his feelings for the seeker but was afraid to say anything to him about it. He still hated him for using him, for treating him like he had been a pleasure drone, that would never go away, but there was still some lingering fear that he might change his processor one cycle and kill the sparkling. But then he felt feelings of genuine like to him when he did something sweet and unexpectedly kind, seeing to his needs and letting him curl against him in the same berth. The femme had explained it happened to bots in his situation and that the humans had called it Stockholm syndrome where the captive began to develop feeling for their captor; but she had also firmly explained that just because Starscream was the creator of his sparkling, it was his choice whether or not he wanted the seeker in his life cycle as a bond mate.

 _"_ _But, we merged sparks, aren't we already bonded?" he asked, optics wide._

 _"_ _Despite what everybot thinks, if two bots merge their sparks it doesn't make them bonded, or sparkmates I've heard it be called, not in the traditional sense," Psyche explained. "Tell me, have you ever heard the term "conjunx endure"?"_

 _"_ _I… don't think so," he said with a frown. "What is it?"_

 _"_ _It's a powerful bond between two bots that nothing can break, not even death some say. You are able to sense the spark of your conjunx even if you two are not together, you may even be able to tell how they are feeling and can calm them down if they are upset or frighten without having to speak. It's a strong bond and so far I've only witnessed it with my creators."_

 _"_ _Oh. How did they do it? Become, each other's conjunx?"_

 _"_ _It starts with_ _the Conjunx Ritus, four ceremonial acts which include the Act of Intimacy, the Act of Disclosure, the Act of Profference, and the Act of Devotion. If the two bots complete all the acts and truly want to, they exchange their inner most energon drawn directly from their spark. I guess that's where bots believed that if you merge your sparks that would make you sparkmates."_

 _'_ _But, do I really want Starscream as my conjunx? Does he want me to be his? We're, we're having a sparkling together, but I don't think I love him like_ that _…'_ He wasn't even sure if he could think of him in such a way but he was taken from his thought process as he felt a damp cloth being pressed into his servo. Shuttering his optics he took it and cleaned up the excess lubricant from his valve, feeling his faceplates flush brightly that his panel never slid close after the examination. "T-Thanks."

"You must be processing something of great concern, I was calling your designation for almost a full breem," the dark colored seeker said as he slowly swiped through the images of their sparkling still on the machine.

"You can say that." Bee didn't bother to elaborate and watched as the panel slid close and carefully slid off the medical berth. He kept one hand on his swollen abdominal plates, opening his lip components to speak up. "I'm glad you made it, to see the sparkling," he said quietly. He refused to look up at the seeker, biting down on his glossia when he wanted to ask him where he goes for mega-cycles at a time but he was here now. The scout didn't fight it as the warm frame stepped up to him, didn't flinch when servos wrapped around him; he vented softly as he embraced the other mech back, offlining his optics as he felt the unsteady pulse of the seeker's spark resonating through his chassis, feeling his own and that of the sparkling reaching out to it despite the protective layers. "Thanks," he murmured quietly.

"Mmm." Starscream could make him promise not to say anything, to keep it a secret no matter what, but what if he couldn't and told someone? What if the Autobots found out? What if Megatron found out? He winced as he felt the conflicting thought processes in both his spark and processor. He wouldn't lie and say he didn't care about the minibot, and that he didn't find him attractive and his personality reminded him so much of his own, but love? Willing to give up his spark for him? … the seeker wasn't sure. He would still leave everyone behind if it meant he got to live another day, but could he do that to the yellow scout? To his own sparkling?

 _'_ _I don't know what I want… but, I know I don't want Megadolt anywhere near either of them and if I have to be treated like scrap by him, then I'll do it,'_ he thought to himself, even as he pressed a kiss to Bee's forehelm, still holding him close as they continued to stand there.

* * *

In the living room Sentinel and Optimus were looking at the image of the developing femme sparkling. Neither could remember the last time they had seen a sparkling but both had agreed that it was indeed a new hope for Cybertron and was so innocent. Even when the dark blue Prime noticed the wing nubs on its backplates he didn't say anything about its Decepticon coding.

 _'_ _The High Council, wants me to—eliminate it—her… but, she's an innocent spark.'_ At first he wouldn't have hesitated, and he knew others would feel the same, but the sparkling knew nothing about this war, she never asked to be created or formed. He knew he had orders and priorities, but he did not think he could ever raise a servo against her in harm.

Optimus was speechless and once more he felt a twinge of anger at himself. He had come so close to hurting both his friend, he was driven to remove the sparkling from Bumblebee and wanted to force him to carry his. What kind of monster was he becoming? How could he think of doing something like that? He could feel the dark voice trying to call out to him, could hear Nemesis whispering how easy to be to just take what should rightfully be his but he ruthlessly pushed the voice back, swearing he would rip it apart if it tried speaking ill of those he cared about once more. It was an empty threat but it gave him a blessed moment of silence.

"Prime? You alright?"

His helm snapped up and he shuddered his optics when he realized that Ratchet was talking to him. "I-I'm fine. You were saying?"

"… The Decepticons have been too quiet lately and I don't like it. There hasn't been a single klik of data anywhere but I know they're planning something. I can feel it, right here in my spark."

"Mmm… What do you suggest we do?"

"Why you asking me? I'm just the chief medical officer," the medbot snorted but he did have a serious look of deep thought on his faceplates. "If Megatron knows Bumblebee's carrying, then he's gotta be thinking of a way to use it to his advantage. I would suggest moving him somewhere else but the sparkling is getting so big, and I don't want to give the kid any addition stress."

"Don't move him." Sentinel didn't have to look up from the image he had been staring at to know they were looking at him in surprise. "Bumblebee's safety and that of his sparkling is important, and those Dinobots have taken to protecting him so let him stay." He slowly looked up and nodded to them. "But, I think we shouldn't let the seekers come and go as they please. The organics may not notice them repeatedly coming and going, but that doesn't mean the 'Cons haven't."

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"… do what we've been doing, but have them spend a few solar cycles at your base and switch out just as this planet's sun rises," he said after a few kliks of processing. "Maybe even increase patrols but don't go actively looking for them just in case they are up to something."

"That, sounds like a reasonable plan, Sentinel," Optimus said with no small amount of surprise. "But I think we should warn everyone to keep an extra watchful optic out, just in case. It wouldn't be unlike Megatron to try and sneak something past us."

"… 'bout you two slaggers tried working together," Ratchet said with a crooked smile. "Keep this up and we just might win this blasted war without me having to keep the two of you from tearing out the other's spark." Without waiting for a response he left, no doubt to speak to the others. For the two primes they were, just slightly stunned at the harsh critique, but secretly they were happy that they were able to talk without one insulting the other. Perhaps, this could be the first step into mending their friendship after a millennium of fighting.

* * *

At times it was easy to forget his life cycle was not his own, that the former SIC of the Decepticon forces was not on borrowed time or that he had a leash that he was forced to obey every time it was yanked. The seeker was happy to be ignorant of the danger he was in, but he wasn't stupid. As soon as he received the communication ping he knew he had no choice but to obey. No amount of lying would let him be free and there was no place on this organic planet that he could run from. Even if he were to leave where would he go? This night was no different as he felt the tug once more and no amount of ignoring or blocking would stop it.

 _'_ _Not a single comm in cycles and now this. Why?'_ He ignored his processor and asked the dreaded question only to receive a response of "do it or else." There was no need to ask what he meant by that and had silently agreed. He felt the frame atop of him shift and looked down, servo affectionately brushing over the mech's abdominal plating.

Bee pressed into the warm frame of the seeker beside him, his recharge cycle deep. His chassis rose and fell as he cycled air in and out, his own yellow servo came down and covered the clawed one resting on his stomach. It had been a fun day for the carrier, playing video games and watching the bots train and seekers flying; he wasn't allowed to do much but they still tried to include him. But the best part had been when he had felt his sparkling let out a pulse, the equivalence of a human baby kicking. It had been exciting and once more he couldn't wait for his little one to come out and meet all the bots he considered his family. However, the warm frame next to him moved and he shifted towards it, trying to get closer as digits gently trailed over his plating.

Starscream let out a low trill, leaning over the smaller Autobot he watched as he rolled onto his backplates, venting softly in response. The seeker remained still, looking down at him and wondering just how differently his current cycle could have been if he had done so many things differently. But he was still determined not to let Megatron get his servos on this innocent spark no matter what. Moving silently, he lowered his helm and pressed a kiss to his derma plating; it would be so easy to just lay with him and fall back into recharge, even the thought of just flying them out of here, as far as the moon was lingering but there was no possible way. He trailed his servo over the mesh plating, smiling softly as he felt the pulse and it made his own spark clench.

"Be safe," he whispered and slowly withdrew. Tucking the blanket over Bumblebee, he gave him one last look before leaving. He had to tell himself repeatedly this was the only way to protect them and that he hoped he would forgive him for what he was about to do. Stepping out of the cave he continued walking, wanting to be as far away as possible so he didn't wake anyone up but he stopped when his audio receivers picked up rustling behind him. He paused and frowned when he heard the oh-so-familiar sounds of gears whirling and metal plates shifting. "I know you're out there," he called out.

"No you don't!" came an annoyed vocalizer. It was quickly followed by the sound of metal hitting metal followed by a pained yelp. "How dare you hit me!"

"Shut up!" The bushes rustled and Slipstream stepped out into the open, followed by a scowling Thundercracker and a worried Skywarp. The femme said nothing but as she planted her servos on her hips, optics narrowed dangerously at her "creator". "Why in the Pitt are you going to Megatron?" she demanded.

"After all I've done to get away from him, why would I go back to that glitch? I want to live for another orbital cycle than go back to him," he scowled at her.

"Oh is that so." Moving up to him the femme turned him around and reaching for a spot just under his lower wing withdrew a tiny transmitter and showed it to him. "Last time you went out for a flight I planted this on you and used it to follow you," she explained at the shocked look on his faceplates. "I lost you for a while, but imagine my surprise when I find you again, talking to Megatron himself in the middle of nowhere."

Starscream frowned and snatched the item from her, crushing it easily between his digits. "You don't know anything about me or why I'm doing this, but I don't have a choice," he hissed angrily. Looking at his chronometer he realized he didn't have a lot of time left. "I care about Bumblebee and the sparkling-"

"You have a funny way of showing it," Thundercracker muttered under his vents.

"-but I am doing this to protect them. But I know how Megatron works, I know what he's capable of." He knew all too well what he was capable of, but even with what he knew it was only a fraction of what the warlord wanted others to see of him. "You all care for them, I've seen it. So consider this my last command as your leader: if Megatron comes after them, protect them with your spark. Even if it means running away, do it." He could see the shocked look on their faceplates but he didn't bother to wait as he transformed and took off into the air, never looking back.

The flight was silent and before he knew it, Starscream was back in New Detroit but he didn't head straight for the caves where Megatron was located. No, he had to prove his word and his forced loyalty by bringing the warlord something he needed. And why should he bother getting his own servos dirty when he could have him do it for him? He hovered over a quiet part of the cityscape, not a single organic in sight though he wished there was. Anything to distract him from what he was about to do.

 _'_ _It's not as though they truly trust me anyway,'_ he thought to himself, trying to make some sense of his actions but even he didn't fully believe that. He felt lights upon him, soon followed by the familiar sounds of parts transforming and only then turned to face the bot walking towards him.

"Starscream? What are you doing here?" Bulkhead asked, very confused as he looked around the area. "Did something happen? Is it Bumblebee?"

"… you could say that," he said calmly, purposely being vague as he reached into his subspace.

"What? Did something happen to Bumblebee? Is the sparkling okay? We-We gotta comm everyone!" the large green mech and was prepared to do so he never noticed as the seeker got close and struck him with something that produced enough electricity to short out his system and processor. The last thing his optics recorded was the seeker looking at him calmly as he held a servo-held gadget that was smoking.

"…" It was on the tip of his glossia to say he was sorry but this was not the mech he really wanted to apologize for. Subspacing the item he had invented he reached up to open his comm link. "This is Starscream. Tell Lord Megatron that I have what he has requested." He paused and frowned as he looked over the bulky mech. "And sent someone to pick the Autobot up; I'm not going to throw out my back strut dragging him back."

* * *

The following morning Bumblebee woke up alone in his berth and tried not to let it get to him, but he felt as though something terrible was going to happen and he did not like it. He tried asking the seekers where Starscream could have gone but they were just as clueless so he tried to keep his processor busy and not think about him or wonder when he would be back. Things were getting even more complicated when the Autobots in New Detroit realized bulkhead never came back from his late night patrol and his comm link had been blocked.

"This isn't like Bulkhead, could it be possible that he was taken by the Decepticons?" Prowl asked.

"But for what reason? And why Bulkhead?" Optimus asked as he rubbed his optics.

It was on the tip of Sentinel's glossia to say something crude but he held it back. "What about that organic that always comes around, could he be with her?" he offered instead.

"He would never go so late, but then again Bumblebee used to do something similar. I'll go talk to Sari and see if he stopped by or said anything. Prowl, I want you to go and check the last place we picked up Bulkhead's signal, maybe there's a clue. Sentinel, you-"

"I can search the streets and see if I can't find the big lug. I'll also comm Jetstorm and Jetfire to keep an optic out just in case," he said even as he transformed into his Earth-based vehicle mode.

"A-Alright. For now, don't let anyone know that he's missing. With any luck, we'll find him before anything else happens." Transforming the three of them drove off. But as they search for the soft-sparked Autobot they failed to realize the Decepticons were on the move. They were soon picking up police reports that construction materials were being stolen only to discover it was the Constructicons, but before anybot could get any of their questions answered Blitzwing and Mindwipe flew in, distracting them long enough for them to escape. A few times even Cyclonus appeared and he was strong enough to keep even the combined form of Safeguard from going after them. No one could figure out why they would need so many raw materials but the concerns and confusion grew when Bumblebee asked them if they had happened to have seen any of the seekers.

"What do you mean they're missing?" Ratchet asked from the communication center at the factory a short cycle later.

"I didn't say they were missing! But they all said they were gonna go do something and next thing I know I can't reach any of them!" He was trying not to worry but first Starscream leaves, then Skywarp disappears, and soon followed by Thundercracker and just earlier, Sunstorm. "They never ignored a comm from me before!" He winced as he felt a sudden pang of pain and nearly doubled over, holding a servo to his chassis and the other to his swollen stomach.

"Kid, don't stress yourself out, we'll find them," the medic quickly said even as he watched via the screen as the white seeker Ramjet led him off screen and watched as the femme sat before the screen. "How long has Starscream been missing?"

"Cycles. He's never been gone this long before and Bee's right; anytime he's comm'ed any of us we always response back." She didn't like this and she knew this had to have something to do with Megatron but even if she said something would they believe her? Or would they think she was in on all these disappearances?

"Something's not right…" That was saying something but Ratchet didn't know what else. They had all been all over the city and there was no sign of their missing comrade not the Decepticons. Equipment and materials were still going missing but no one knew by whom or why. "Look, you and Ramjet need to get over here right now."

"And what, leave the carrier and his sparkling unprotected? Those processor challenged glitches can't protect him like Ramjet and I can!" she argued.

"We need more optics if we're gonna find out what happened to our missing teammates and the last time the Dinobots ran around the city they nearly burned it to the ground. But I see your point… look, I'll have Skyfire go and watch over Bee but as much as I hate saying this, we need your help."

"… Fine. But tell that shuttle to hurry up, we don't have all stellar cycle to be waiting for him!" Turning off the comm the turquoise femme was frustrated and worried, but she would never admit it. _'Where in the Pitt are you morons?'_ she wondered before getting up to see the carrier.

Still hidden away and completely unknown, the pocketbot that was still controlled by Megatron was watching and recording everything. It watched as the two seekers tried to get the Autobot minibot calm down, trying to get him to refuel. He accepted the cube of energon but he didn't take a sip, just stared into it.

"This isn't some elaborate prank you're trying to pull on me, everyone isn't hiding somewhere and will jump out and say surprise, right?"

"How did you find out?" Ramjet lied and winced as Slipstream reached out and smacked him upside his helm. "That didn't hurt!" The femme hit him even harder the second time.

"We won't let anything happen to you," Slipstream said, sitting next to him. She still wasn't used to physical contact so when the carrier leaned into her she froze. She had seen him do the same thing to the other femme countless times before; she lifted a servo and slowly, hesitantly, wrapped it around him. Bumblebee tensed for a moment but didn't pull away as he finally took a sip from his cube.

"Thanks, Slipstream," he murmured quietly.

"… it's nothing," she answered back but it made her smile ever so slightly as she continued to hug him close.

"Such sentimental garbage," Megatron muttered to himself as he watched the recording happening live. But seeing how the two remaining seekers were acting he was beginning to have doubts about whether or not he could fully trust these seekers, especially that of his traitorous second-in-command. So, what better way to ensure his loyalty than by showing that he was not to be taken lightly? He stepped away from his console and made his way deeper into the caves, taking a moment to watch the captive known as Bulkhead directing the idiotic newly-sparked mechs from the Earth-based construction machinery. Or tried to but the mechs were much more interested in drinking their combined mass in oil.

"Ey yo, Mix, this is the life!"

"Ya said it, Scrapper!"

"C'mon you mechs, we gotta finish setting this up!" Bulkhead vented, feeling his processor ache .

"Ey, we need an oil break!" the excavator pointed out as he emptied another oil canister. "Ey, check it out, Mix!" Lifting the empty canister, he crushed it easily against his helm.

"That's nothin', watch this!" the shorter cement truck said as he lifted two empty canisters and crushed them easily. "Beat that, Scrapper!"

There was a loud crash and everyone turned to see Lugnut buried under a pile of steel support beams that had been dropped by Thundercracker and Sunstorm. The two seekers were too busy arguing that they had dropped the thickly constructed materials and were still arguing in the air.

"I told you to stop talking!" the blue violet seeker snapped angrily.

"I was merely complimenting you on your strong frame! Surely no one else can lift so much with such ease," the yellow seeker continued to praise heavily.

It was utter chaos but before the arguing could get any louder or destructive they all froze as they felt a menacing EM field projecting a murderous intent that demanded complete obedience. Moving as one they turned to face the Decepticon warlord who's arm-mounted plasma cannon was ready to obliterate everyone there. It was a true test of prowess as he resisted the tempting urge to turn them all into scrap but there was a hard edge in his vocalizer as he gave his orders.

"Constructicons, finish building the space bridge before I rip out your sparks and use your lifeless frames as new oil drums," he growled out. Both mechs were quick to obey his command, scrambling to their peds and pushing the other out of the way. "Autobot, I expect my space bridge to be fully operational by the end of this solar cycle, or else."

"Yeah, I got ya." It would be so easy to ruin everything but one look at the dreaded Headmaster Unit off to the side of the caves made him quickly think against it.

"Blitzwing, make certain they continue working on my project, or else," he ordered the triple changer.

"Yes, Lord Megatron," he said simply, barely listening as Lugnut threatened the seekers for their actions to which they taunted him, making him even angrier and ignoring the crushed and numerous empty oil drums that two earth-created mechs had laying around; ever since he spoke to the neutral femme he had been out of sorts. He only hoped that the warlord didn't notice.

Seeing how things were finally continuing with his plans he turned to the rest of his meager troops. Mindwipe was hanging from a stalactite, apparently recharging, but at least he was quiet. Starscream was sulking in the corner and would glare at him once in a while but said nothing. No doubt he was trying to find a way to overthrow him but he was not one to be without a failsafe. He noticed the one mech he knew could be trusted and gestured for him to follow him. "Cyclonus, I have a mission for you."

"Anything you command, Lord Megatron," he said as he crossed his servo over his chassis.

"I want you to retrieve the Autobot carrier from his "home" and bring him here. Preferably unharmed but alive."

The grayish mech looked up but slowly nodded. "You do not believe Starscream will keep to his promise to serve you loyally if you spare the carrier and the sparkling."

"He has tried numerous times to eliminate me and has failed. I have not gotten this far as to let anything go to chance nor will let myself be bested by several rather pitiful clones. This will also teach them that I am always watching and to never underestimate me," he smirked.

"My lord," he said with a nod. "Shall I leave immediately?"

"Yes. And bring one other with you if you must, but remember my orders."

"Of course." The seeker received the coordinates of where the carrier was located and waited under the lord left he turned to look at the mechs available. There was only so many mechs he trusted to assist him but he knew it had to be another seeker. He headed to the one he needed and grabbed his shoulder. "Come with me," he ordered and began dragging him out towards the entrance.

"W-W-What'd I do-do?" Skywarp stuttered as he was nearly dragged along, trying very hard not to trip over his own peds. He glanced nervously at the others, silently asking for help but yelped as the clawed digits dug painfully into his seams. Once outside he winced as the bright sunlight hurt his optics but he yelped in pain as he was slammed into the rough wall of the mountain, looking at the other seeker fearfully.

"Listen well, you pathetic bot. We are going to capture the carrier and bring him here as per Lord Megatron's orders," he hissed to him lowly. "You may be able to teleport, but if you try to communicate with the Autobots or the other glitches, I will make you watch as I rip their wings from their backstruts and I will tell the carrier it was you who betrayed him as the sparkling is forcefully removed."

Skywarp's optics grew impossibly huge, unsure what to say but Bumblebee's welfare and that of his sparkling came first and foremost. And if to protect them meant working with a mech far scarier than anything Starscream could threaten him with, so be it. He couldn't speak but he nodded and watched as he back up before taking to the air. he followed a klik later, both transforming. Soon they were gone, heading straight for Dinobot Island.

* * *

Skyfire did not understand what he was doing wrong, he was pressing the buttons as he had been taught and yet the avatar on the screen was not performing as well as he had hoped. Frowning he tried to get the small pixelated character to jump but blinked when the opponent he was fighting attacked with a blast of light, stunning his avatar before the other pixelated character charged forward with a rapid attack, taking away the rest of his health.

"K.O.! Winner: Player 2!"

"I… I lost?" he blinked and looked down at the controller in his servos. "But I did exactly as you showed me. How did I lose?"

"What combo did you use?" Bumblebee asked the much larger seeker.

"Right, right, right, right, right, right, release, circle, start. Just like you told me."

"Didn't you hold down the R1 button the entire time?"

"I-!" Looking down he realized he hadn't and vented softly. "-did not… I-I only tapped it once."

"Don't worry about it! First time I played this game Sari beat me big time, but I spent a whole Earth week playing it and next time she came over I beat her," he grinned. "You just gotta practice!"

"I suppose so." The shuttle did find the game enjoyable and it seemed to be helping the Autobot not think about the situation of the missing mechs. He was also shown the images of the sparkling and he was in complete awe. "Jetfire and Jetstorm talk so much about this game, I can see why they enjoy playing it so much."

"Oh yeah, they always wanna challenge each other, I've been keeping score of how many times they beat each other," Bee grinned. "Ready for round 2?"

"Yes. This time I will defeat you," he smiled. This time he would remember to hold down the required button and win this round.

"You and the jettwins are getting along fine, they told me they like flying with someone else for a change," Bee spoke up, easily dodging the punches and countering with some of his own.

"I admit, they are quite pleasant mechs to be around. They even expressed a desire to visit Torkulon if they are allowed," he said with a small smile.

"I wouldn't mind a visit, myself." For a few kliks the sounds of their video game avatars trying to beat the other filled the room. "Does that mean you really like them?"

"I do."

"And I bet they really like you."

"They've told me."

"That's good. I like seeing my friends happy." It was a happy moment even when the round ended in Skyfire's favor, making Bee groan it was still in good fun. "Okay, this round decides the winner."

"Then what are we waiting for?" As soon as the screen said 'Fight!' both their avatars tried to gain the advantage. Both tried using their avatars' special moves, breaking through guards. "I do wonder, why Cybertron has never thought to create games like this."

"Me too! I asked Psyche that once and she said that's all we'd be doing," the yellow mech said, narrowing his optics as his avatar jumped out of the way. "I think she's mad that she keeps losing. Even Grimlock beat her!"

"Is that so? Oh that could not have set well with her," the shuttle chuckled softly, studying the entertainment screen intently. "I admit, I have seen several other games similar to this, but you can select up to two characters to fight as one."

"You mean how the jettwins took you down and tried 'facing with you?" Bee said with a grunt, taking the sudden pause to deal a powerful blow to his opponent but he blinked when he realized just what he had said and looked at the frozen shuttle. "Um, Skyfire…?"

Skyfire's optics were huge, his faceplates darkening as energon rushed through his cables and his plating suddenly felt too warm. He sat there frozen on the couch, controller in his still servos. He swore his processor suffered a glitch but as he replayed the scout's words he found himself just, well, just a tad bit embarrassed. "H-How did you find out?" he asked quietly.

"… it was several solar cycles ago. I was walking around the island when I saw the three of you flying around. I thought you were training before I saw the twins ram into you and you were all heading for the ground pretty fast. I thought something happened and went to see if you needed help or something but when I got closer I heard—noise." Well this was embarrassing; Bee should have stopped but he had moved closer and what he saw was completely unexpected and once the realization hit him, the Autobot left as quickly and quietly as he could.

"Oh." He couldn't blame the scout, to anybot else no one would have known what the tree of them were doing, not unless said bot was a seeker themselves. It had begun as a game between them, the lithe twins encouraging the shuttle to try and catch them in the air, but the way they were flying around, flying close enough to stroke at his wing tips and faux glass was enough to stir up his deeply-coded instincts. He tried calling a stop to the game, explaining they didn't know what they were doing, tried to leave, but they both grabbed at him suddenly causing the three of them to nearly crash onto the island. Even though they were sparked as grounders, they still had CNA coding in their systems and theirs was telling them that he was a suitable mate, they desired him, and they would not take no as an answer.

"I—We—" Skyfire tried saying only to vent heavily, releasing all the air as he took the time to compose his thought process. "It's something seekers do, when they wish to show their affection to another they are attracted to. If the other feels the same, it becomes a kind of game and ends with-"

"I get it! You don't have to explain!" Bee quickly interrupted. He didn't stay for everything but he had seen where it was going pretty quickly. "I'm really sorry, I just thought something happened but I swear, I won't say anything."

"It's alright, Bumblebee. I admit, perhaps it was not the best time but I do care about them very much." He knew he shouldn't, they twins didn't know anything about being a seeker or the culture, but they kept repeating how much they cared for him, and he could feel it in his spark they meant everything. "It may sound selfish, but I want to enjoy my time with them as much as possible."

Bumblebee didn't say anything for several long kliks but he leaned forward and rested his servo on the shuttle's arm, giving him a sincere smile. "I think you can stand to be selfish just a little bit, and I bet they can stand to be a bit selfish themselves."

"… Psyche said something similar." Actually, she had said to just enjoy it and to the slagging Pitt what anyone said. Reaching up he covered his servo, giving him a smile as he let out a soft vent of relief. "Thank you for your understanding. And since you won at an unfair advantage, I challenge you to another round of Ninja Gladiator."

"You're on. Best two outta three," the yellow mech nodded as they restarted the game with new characters.

Elsewhere on the island, the Dinobots were training though to anyone watching them they would assume they were trying to destroy one another. All three were in their root forms, brandishing their weapons with superior strength. It was far from graceful and the destructive power behind it would have scared a number of beings off, but it was what they knew and their frames were able to withstand their brutality. They had no idea they were being watched from the skies.

"So these are the Dinobots I have heard about, they are nothing more than processor-challenged beasts," Cyclonus sneered.

"B-but look at them!" Skywarp cried out in fear, wincing as Snarl swung her club, shattering the boulder she had struck into rumble. "I don't wanna be smashed! Why am I here?"

"Because while I am dealing with those glitches, you will grab the carrier and teleport him back to Lord Megatron." Banking on the air the two jets flew close enough to transform and land. The grayish jet pierced the darker jet a cold look but before he could say anything he unleashed one of his swords and pressed it threatening to the other seeker's neck cables, snarling lowly as the whimper of fear. "Or would you rather I bring him back as well as present Lord Megatron your wings?"

Skywarp tried to say something, anything, but he just shook his helm and watched as he slowly pulled back but not before the sharp edge of the blade nicked the cables, drawing a bit of energon. He continued to stand there, trembling so badly he was certain he was going to shake something loose before he forced himself to move. He knew that jet's threats were not empty and no doubt he was going to make sure it was as painful as possible, but how else was he going to protect Bumblebee and the sparkling?

 _'_ _M-Maybe, I can get him to contact the Autobots?'_ He wasn't sure how he was going to do that but, right now it was the only option he could think of! He nearly lost everything in his waste tanks when he heard a furious roar and immediately bolted for the caves. He winced as he ran through so much organic material, feeling his wings getting scratched up, but he had forgotten he could fly until he broke through the clearing and saw the caves a short distance away. Finally! Now if he could get to the carrier and get him to send a message to the Autobots, no one would get hurt! _'… I-I hope, anyway,'_ he thought to himself.

Skywarp wasn't known for being stealthy, but his cowardice nature was having him move silently, freezing every time there was a sound, and trying to meld into the shadows so far was working. Though he was wondering why Slipstream and Ramjet hadn't noticed his presence-

"I'll be right back, Skyfire," Bumblebee said as he headed for the main room of the caves, the same place where a terrified seeker was frozen in place. "You sure you don't want a cube?"

"No but thank you for the offer," came the pleasant response as the shuttle settled on the couch, going through the channels on the entertainment screen.

 _'_ _Hide hide! I need to hide!'_ the 'Con panicked, wings nearly trembling he looked around for some place to hide. He was in the main room and before him were several smaller caves. One of the caves was out of the question, seeing how the much larger mech was coming out of it, and he wasn't about to go the storage cave where the energon was kept. He was running out of places to hide, seeing the broad shadow of the shuttle coming larger the black and violet seeker swallowed back a wail of fear and bolted into the nearest cave, nearly slamming the door on his wings.

Bumblebee hummed softly as he walked out of the living room, rubbing his lower backstrut. His steps were short on the account that Sunstorm in his overly flattering wisdom, one cycle mentioned how he made a wonderful impression of an earth-based mammal called a penguin. After looking it up he berated the seeker for calling him fat (while struggling not to cry) and locked himself in his berth room all cycle. When he emerged Sunstorm begged for forgiveness, saying he didn't mean anything by it. He forgave him but since then he took the extra effort to watch how he was walking.

'Though I can't be mad at you, little one,' he smiled as he gently rubbed his midsection. He moved past his berthroom, heading for the storage where all the extra energon and extra items he might need were kept.

From inside the room Skywarp had sealed all his vents, afraid to let out a single gust of air but he felt his wings tremble in relief. He was safe, but as he looked around he swallowed back the whimper when he realized he was in the carrier's berthroom. He shouldn't be in here, not alone, but he couldn't go back out and talk to him.

 _'_ _I-I can tell him I was botnapped! But why did I wait so long to get back to him? Or may-maybe I was trapped, and I was just now able to escape!'_ But no matter how many excuses he came up with the more he was getting worked up. He found himself pacing the berthroom, wings twitching and hiking up and down his backstrut, worrying himself into a frenzy he failed to notice the door to the room opening until it was too late. His helm snapped up (and possibly snapping a cable in the process) and his frighten red optics stared in surprised blue ones.

"… S-Skywarp…?" Bee whispered so softly he had to strain his own audios to hear himself. He couldn't believe what he was seeing and reset his optics but the dark purple seeker was right here, right in front of him! He opened his derma to say something but he heard the shuttle calling out to him and turned to no doubt answer him. He made the mistake of turning his backplates to said seeker. Then again, he never thought he would grab him from behind, pulling him away from the door and deeper into the room. The cube of energon he had been holding dropped to the ground, the container too strong to break so easily but the fuel was rapidly spilling out.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" the jet former pleaded, even with one servo over the minibot's lip plates and the other having reached across his chassis and grabbed the yellow and black servo, pulling it across his extended stomach. He wouldn't dare say the carrier was too heavy to lift but he was still taller and like this he couldn't get away. "I'm sorry, Bee!" he hissed softly.

Being grabbed from behind, held back like this brought back too many bad memories and Bee's first instincts was to get away. The servos weren't being painful, the seeker wasn't trying to force him to the floor or the berth, and his EM field was projecting fear and sadness. He continued to try and twist his servo free but it was held in an unrelenting grip. The other tried pulling the servo over his mouth plates off but instead it forced his helm back, letting it rest against the warm chassis. He didn't think to unsheathe his stinger, all he could think of was to protect his sparkling.

"Bumblebee? Are you alright?" Skyfire had heard something and was already up but he didn't see the Autobot anywhere. Frowning he saw a brightly colored liquid coming from beneath a door and knelt, reaching out to touch it. It was energon but why was it on the ground? He stood and immediately knocked on the closed door. "Bumblebee? Is something wrong?" No answer but it didn't stop him from raising the volume of his audio receivers, focusing intently on the door. There was nothing but he was startled when he heard something akin to air being displaced suddenly. Something was very wrong so he reached out with his comm link. ~Bumblebee?~

There was no answer but he knew something was very wrong. He reached out for the panel to open the door but it was locked from the inside. "Bumblebee, please open the door." There was still no answer and he was beginning to worry. "Primus, please forgive me." Moving before the panel Skyfire entered the override code that allowed anyone inside in case there was an emergency, something he swore not to use but his worries only escalated as the panel beeped, allowing the door to open but the berthroom was empty. On the floor was a transparent container with energon spilling freely. The Autobot carrier was gone and he knew it had not been willing.

* * *

Nearly on the other side of the island the air seemed to ripple and two metallic forms appeared, one tall, dark, with wings, the other shorter, brightly colored, with a rather large stomach. He was also struggling against the other mech, digging his yellow digits into seams until the servo was removed from his lip components. The seeker was afraid he was going to call for help but instead he held him up when he began to purge. This was not what he expected but he continued to hold the minibot up. Thankfully he finished soon but he could hear his vents struggling to cycle air.

"Bee-" he began but the minibot immediately pulled out of his grip, taking a few steps that separated him and looked at him with angry/hurtful optics. Skywarp felt his wings lower even more.

"What the slag is your malfunction?" Bumblebee hissed, running the back of his servo over his derma, ignoring the feel of the fuel as it irritated his intake cable and upset his tanks. "I told you, I purge easily! And I thought you were missing! Why didn't you let me tell Skyfire that you're here?"

"I-I'm sorry-"

"Stop saying that!"

The seeker flinched, wing tips trembling as though he had just been slapped. "I—was taken, along with the others, but that's not the point! You're not safe here anymore. I-I wanted to warn you before he came."

Bee blinked, finally taking in the rapid twitching of the wings. "What are you talking about? What happened?"

"… Me-Me-Megatron, had all of us captured, and he's forcing us to work for him," he said lowly, even as his optics darted around in case anyone was listening in. He moved closer, reaching out to try and comfort the Autobot but flinched once more when he slapped at his servos and took another step back. "I was hoping—if I warned you, you could tell the Autobots! They can stop him!"

"Why didn't you just go to them first? I've been worrying myself sick!" Bee snapped. He knew he should calm down, his spark was racing painfully in his chassis and his tanks lurched he couldn't help but press his servos to where his sparkling was still developing. Fears of his nightmare came to his processor but he was quick to push it away. "I thought… you were my friend."

"I **am** your friend!" Skywarp moved in and this time grabbed the carrier by his shoulder joints, wanting nothing more than to wrap his servos around him and hold him close. "I want to tell you! I want to take the both of you far from here, away from any both who wants to harm you! I-I-" He didn't know why he did what he did, but the next thing he knew he was pulled the scout close and kissed him.

Bumblebee's optics grew huge, frame stilling even as his fans sputtered to kick online. The kiss was hard and rough, painful but as quickly as the violet seeker kissed him he pulled back. His derma was tingling painfully, certain they were bruised, but he was a bit shocked when he felt a familiar heat begin to spread through his frame. Now he had a whole different set of questions to ask him-

"BUMBLEBEE!"

The small cry of terror was the least mechly thing ever, but it didn't stop the seeker from hiding behind the carrier, holding onto him tightly from behind, the both of them watching as a broad white shuttle came flying down, transforming and landing with enough force to shake the very ground beneath their peds. Skywarp had only seen the other seeker mad once and the way he was looking at him was nearly enough to make him want to leak waste oil all over himself. So he did the only thing he knew what to do in a situation like this.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry-y!" he said pitifully, clinging to the bright frame before him like a living shield.

"You," Skyfire fumed angrily, blue optics burning so brightly they were nearly white. "Have a great deal of explaining to do. So start talking."

"I-"

"NOW!"

Bee could feel the frantic beating of the spark behind him, the violent tremors threatening to shake him apart. The seeker was going to suffer a painful and offlining spark attack and soon unless he did something. "Sk-Skyfire, wait! Skywarp was trying to protect me!"

"By botnapping you from your own room? Did he tell you he also badly damage the Dinobots?" he asked in a low rumble, wings arched high on his backstrut, taking slow, deliberate steps towards them. "I just saw them and they are in need of repairs or they won't survive."

"What?" The Dinobots were hurt? He made to go towards the shuttle but Skywarp continued to cling to him, refusing to let him go. "We-We gotta comm Ratchet!"

"I've been trying but the distance is too far away. Bumblebee, please come with me, I need to make sure you and your sparkling are safe," the large mech said softly, holding his servo out. He could easily pull him away from the other seeker but so far he wasn't hurting him in the slightest.

"But… Skywarp wouldn't…" had he somehow tricked the Dinobots in maybe attacking each other? But why? Bumblebee was so confused, but his optics noticed the air rippling behind his appointed guardian and saw a flash of metal glinting in the sunlight. He tried to warn him but the shuttle cried out in pain and fell forward with a massive crash. His backplates were brutally slashed, causing oil and energon to leak heavily, straining the soft ground.

Cyclonus said nothing as he flicked his blades free of the fluids, looking at the yellow scout calmly. "Lord Megatron has requested your presence, carrier. It would not be wise to keep him waiting."

The Autobot was shaking and he could feel his system glitching, trying to make sense of what was happening but he was dimly aware that he was struggling to get free from Skywarp's grip, reaching out for the fallen mech groaning on the ground, screaming over his comm link for help to anyone who could hear him. His nightmare, was slowly becoming a spark-breaking reality.

 **Author's Notes:** Sweet Solus Prime… This, has been one of THE hardest chapters I have written! And I've been doing a lot of thinking as well… I had told myself that if I posted a new story, I would see it to the end regardless because I am tired and leaving stuff as incomplete. And yet going back I'm noticing a lot of errors, clichés, and then I get ideas for new stories that don't ever pertain to this one. In other words, I guess I'm burning myself out.

Before anyone panics I am not going to abandon this story. Pitt, I was thinking of just starting over but that would mean getting rid of everything I worked hard on and losing all those wonderful reviews. So, I came to the conclusion I will complete this story and not stop or post anything new until it is done.

Sure I'm still working on 'Slutty Bee' but that story is just a series of PWP short stories that don't really tie in with each other. In other words, it doesn't really count. So that's still going to continue on as long as I can manage.

I intended to add more to this chapter, but I need something for the next chapter. And I'm sure those of you that watch TF: Animated know where this is going, but again I think I kinda went off-back-on-back-off-cramp-plots-together a long time ago. So! Fellow readers and writers, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please leave a review!


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** Are you ready for another chapter? Yes? No? Maybe so? Well, here it is anyway! So glad everyone is still enjoying this as am I, 'cuz now we're getting to the plot! I really deviated from the series big time without realizing it but hey, my story, my rules. The poll results haven't changed much but here are the rankings so far:

Prowl: 20

Starscream: 16

Optimus Prime: 5

Other: 5 (Bulkhead: 1; Skywarp: 1; Sentinel: 2)

You know, with Ninja in the lead I should write some more interaction between him and Bee… (thinks about it) Enjoy the chapter!

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

Cyclonus said nothing as he flicked his blades free of the fluids, looking at the yellow scout calmly. "Lord Megatron has requested your presence, carrier. It would not be wise to keep him waiting."

The Autobot was shaking and he could feel his system glitching, trying to make sense of what was happening but he was dimly aware that he was struggling to get free from Skywarp's grip, reaching out for the fallen mech groaning on the ground, screaming over his comm link for help to anyone who could hear him. His nightmare, was slowly becoming a spark-breaking reality.

No. No no no no a million times no! This was not happening! He was suppose to be safe here; nothing bad was suppose to happen! But still Bumblebee struggled against the seeker, ignoring his attempts to calm him down. "Sk-Skyfire! Get up, please!" he shouted at the larger mech.

The shuttle groaned, fighting back his processor's demands for an emergency shut down. His stabilizers twitched, failing to respond to his internal commands. System errors and warnings filled his HUD, but still he forced his helm up and looking at the much smaller mech before him. He was in danger, he needed to protect him and his sparkling. He could feel his servos slowly moving and managed to get them under his frame, pushing himself up, more than prepared to crawl to the yellow mech but he cried out in pain as a ped kicked him with enough forced to badly dent the plating along his side, causing him to fall back onto his backstrut, gasping wetly in pain. More warning filled his display, this time indicating a cracked fuel pump that was leaking internally. But he refused to give up as he tried to sit up, growling lowly in his chassis.

"You will not-" he began to growl but it ended with a sharp cry pf pain as the mech who attacked him lunged forward and pinned his wings to the ground, the sharp blades having pierced the armor plating, slicing through wires and disabling his flight capabilities. The pain increased a hundred times more and this time he could feel his systems shutting down in an effort to preserve his lifecycle but he forced the words past his derma plating. "Y-You will, n-n-not… su-suceed-d-d-d…"

"You are wrong, shuttle," Cyclonus said coolly even as he stood over him, pulling his swords free, watching as the light from the optics dimmed. "I will see his glorious descent. You will not." He raised his sword, prepared to pierce the spark chamber but a blast of electricity hit him unexpectantly, nearly causing him to fall over his own peds. Hissing angrily, he turned to his attacker. "Insolent bot!"

"Frag you!" Bumblebee shouted at him, glaring at him with so much hate but it didn't stop him from standing between the Decepticon and the shuttle, stingers still sparking. He was surprised he was able to injure the powerful seeker but he was not going to let him offline his friend! He ignored the worried call from Skywarp as the grayish mech approached him but Bee immediately knelt down and clung to the shuttle, purposely digging his digits into the gaps of his plating. He didn't know if he could save him, but he wasn't going to leave him here to leak to death!

"Let him go, carrier."

"No!"

"B-Bumblebee, please listen," the violet seeker whispered, wings hitching.

"Shut up! I'm not leaving him!" he said stubbornly even as he clung to the shuttle as tightly as he could. He could faintly hear Skyfire's spark in his chassis so there was a still a chance that he would survive this! He felt servos on him, trying to pull him away but he growled lowly himself, clinging to the larger mech like a starving scraplet. He couldn't help but flinch when he heard a threatening growl above him, wincing as sharp digits scratched at his plating but he refused to let go. There was no guarantee that the grayish seeker wouldn't harm him and claim it was necessary but he could hear yelling and jumped when he felt somewhat familiar and gentle servos on his backplates.

"I'm sorry," Skywarp whispered and in a ripple of air, the four mechs were gone.

* * *

Nothing was making sense, and with the added disappearance of now both Slipstream and Ramjet, it was taking everything the Autobots had not to panic. Even Sari was trying to stay calm but everyone was worried and confused. How on Earth could several building tall robots just suddenly go missing into thin air?

"Haven't you found anything yet?" the techno-organic asked once more, looking at the screen in the communication center.

"For the last time, no I haven't found anything so quit asking!" Ratchet snapped, trying very hard not to turn around and hit the organic. No, that only worked on other bots and with the way his oil pressure was rising he knew he could end up hurting her badly.

"What are you doing, playing video games? We gotta find Bulkhead, right now!"

"Listen you, I'm doing the best I can and hearing you stating the obvious is not helping!"

"Then look _harder!_ "

"Both of you, shut up!" Psyche nearly bellowed, going so bold as to grab the human girl into her servo and shoving the medic back, putting herself between them. "Prowl! Get in here!" she yelled before pointing to the communication screen once more. "Ratchet, keep looking."

"That's what I've been doing for the past mega-cycle," he growled but turned his attention to the screens. The cyber ninja entered the main area and before he could ask what was wrong he was handed the still yelling organic.

"Take her and calm her down," Psyche ordered. He looked confused and Sari was still yelling up a storm but seeing the stress in both the femme and the CMO he wordlessly nodded and headed for his room to try and calm his organic friend down. Finally, the factory was quiet as the neutral returned back to the terminal. "Never saw you lose your cool that bad before."

"I'm doing the best I can. And her asking the same questions was getting on my last circuit," he grumbled.

"I'm worried about him, about everyone, but we can't lose focus on what's important." Psyche didn't want to add she hadn't heard anything from Skyfire in a while but tried not to let her own worries override her own logic. "Okay look, so far we've seen the Constructicons in these areas," she pointed out as she brought up a map of the city.

"Yeah. And this is where we've been running into those Decepticons as well," the medbot pointed out as he highlighted more areas. "And this is where Bulkhead had his signal last."

"So, what are we missing?" The femme stepped back, looking at the screen. There was something missing, but what she couldn't be certain. "Okay, run by me what they stole again?"

"A bunch of raw materials the organics use in their buildings. But I don't think Megatron is interested in building them a tower." He had been puzzled by that but still he brought up a list and items that had been taken, going over the list once more. "And even if they were building something, where could they be hiding it? And why even build it for that matter."

"Away from the inhabitants, for one thing," Psyche murmured, tapping a few buttons on the console she began zooming in on the areas they had highlighted. It appeared when the Autobots chased the Decepticons closer to the outskirts of the city, reinforcements arrived to provide a long enough distraction for them to escape. "What's on the outside of this cityscape, anyway?"

"Beats me. Best bot to ask would be Prowl." The medic clearly didn't care about that but as he went over the items they were stolen he was trying to figure out why everything seemed so familiar. He vaguely waved his servo in the femme's direction when she said something, too focused on the task at hand.

Psyche made her way to the rooms, pausing when she passed Bumblebee's room and wondered how he was doing. _'I'll send a comm to them later,'_ she thought and knocked on the door to the ninja's room. "It's Psyche, may I come in?" she asked. She could make out talking but the door opened and she entered. She found the Cyber Ninja sitting on the floor across from Sari who was still looking upset. Moving over to them she slowly sat down. For several tense kliks no one said anything but the neutral decided to break the silence.

"I'm sorry for yelling, but Ratchet and I are doing the best we can," she began slowly. "I haven't known Bulkhead very long, but I know he has a warm and soft spark under all that plating and I'm positive that the Decepticons have not harmed him."

"How can you be so sure?! You don't know them like I do!" Sari snapped angrily.

"No, I don't. But why take him away if they were going to destroy him? Why haven't any of them tried to contact us to brag that they eliminated him?" She could see the girl was ready to argue with her but nothing came out and eventually, she closed her mouth. "Sari, I chose to stay out of this war for personal reasons, but that doesn't mean I care less about anyone. Do you understand?"

"I… I think so… but, I'm just really worried about him," she admittedly quietly. She tried not to let the tears fall but it was no use as they raced down her cheeks. She was startled when she felt someone pick her up but cried into the chest plates of the femme, whispering that she was sorry for yelling earlier. Psyche cooed softly, being carefully to stroke her back with the tip of her digit she turned to the ninja.

"Prowl, I came to ask you about the outskirts of the cityscape."

"Oh? What about them?" he asked.

"Ratchet and I believe the Decepticons are building something, what we don't know but it has to be far away from the organics that no one would notice and certainly no place an Autobot would think to look."

"Hmmm, well there isn't much out there. The city is surrounded mostly by organic plant life, but I would think the Decepticons would prefer to find somewhere they can hide and stay low," he thought aloud. "I can download the maps of the surrounding areas and see if perhaps there is something they can use to hide in."

"That's the best option we have right now," Psyche said but jumped when she heard the medic shouting for her. Cradling the techno-organic to her chassis she got up, followed by Prowl, and ran into the main room to the communication center where Ratchet was staring at the screen with large optics. "What is it?" she asked.

"I know what the 'Cons are building! It almost didn't make any sense, these are materials we don't really use on Cybertron, but they found replacement components," he began in a rush. "Looking at everything they stole it makes sense—they're trying to build a space bridge!"

"What!?" Things had just got from bad to worse in a matter of kliks. Psyche didn't hesitate into moving to the console, rapidly typing in something even as the two mechs tried to understand why their enemy was trying to recreate a space bridge. Sari was confused, she remembered hearing something about it before but no one ever bothered to explain it.

"What's a space bridge?" she asked the femme who's shoulder she was now sitting on.

"Just what it means," she said shortly, pulling up the Cybertron DataNet for some research. Glancing at the child on her shoulder and seeing the confused look on her face she vented and struggled to calm down and explain it simply. "It's a way to transport forces and supplies from one planet to another by using transwarp space energy and it happens in a split astrosecond. The thing is, this technology is known **only** by Autobots and the Decepticons have tried to get the information for countless vorns."

"Sooo, it's like teleporting?"

"Yes. I think. But that's not all, it takes more than materials to make a space bridge, they also need a technician to help maintain the bridge or the smallest miscalculation can cause irreversible destruction to your planet, maybe even your solar system."

Sari's eyes grew wide. She didn't want to think what kind of damage could be done if the 'Cons managed to build something like that, and regardless of it working or not everyone was doomed because of it. "But where could they be building something like that? Someone's bound to notice it no matter where they're hiding!"

"Because they can hide it in the open, the last place anyone would think to look," Prowl spoke up as though realization just struck him. "New Detroit is surrounded by woods, but there are also several caves and mountains in the area that would act as the perfect camouflage."

"Hey, my dad owns a bunch of mines! He owns a lot of stuff but no one has used them in years, I bet he ever forgot he had them!" Sari was quick to point out.

"What kind of mines are we talking about?"

"I dunno, but the factory where we found Bumblebee was where everything that was mined was processed."

"Carbon deposits. That's why we can't get a fix on their signal!" Ratchet said as he slammed his fist into his servo. "The carbon dust from the coal cloaks their signal and makes them invisible under our own radar! The more dust there is, the stronger it cloaks them." Lifting a servo to the side of his helm he immediate sent out a comm link to their team leader. "Prime! Listen up, we think we know where the Decepticons are hiding out!"

"Tell them to meet me outside the city and I'll lead them to the mines!" Prowl yelled out even as he transformed and raced out of the factory, his police siren blaring loudly.

"But, they don't have anyone who knows how to work a space bridge, so why are the 'Cons bothering with it to begin with? Don't they care that they can destroy themselves in the process?" Sari argued.

"Oh they have someone alright… someone who had no choice but to help them or face being offlined in the most painful way possible," Psyche spoke lowly. "According to this, there is to record only one bot who has a perfect score on space bridge schematics and he's currently here on Earth." Tapping a button the screen revealed the bot behind said score which filled the screen.

" _Bulkhead!?_ "

* * *

"LET ME OUTTA HERE!" Bumblebee shouted as loud as he could, repeatedly striking the locked door. There was no way out despite how much he looked around, not so much as a crack he could exploit to his advantage. As soon as Skywarp had teleported them to some caves (the Decepticons' secret base) he was forced off an offlined Skyfire and "escorted" to a look with a room with a signature lock that only a code could open from either side. And he wasn't "escorted" as much as he was "dragged kicking and cursing up a storm." Before he was locked away though his stingers and his comm link were disabled but it didn't stop him from trying. When that failed he went back to beating at the thick door as hard as he could, straining the joints. Angrily he slammed both his clenched servos into the metal before slowly sliding down to his knee joints, optics shut tightly but it did nothing to stop the sobs from breaking free. When did everything go so horribly wrong? Starscream was gone, the seekers apparently joined forces with Megatron, Bulkhead was also missing, and now the Dinobots and Skyfire were all badly hurt because of him. It was enough to make him want to scream in pure frustration with no small amount of hurt. He fell into a fitful recharge against the door, praying to the ancient deity for help.

The Autobot carrier did not want to get out of his sleep mode but the indicators that he was dangerously low on fuel kept showing up which meant not only was he hungry, so was his still growing sparkling. But even so he doubted the 'Cons would be willing to give him anything unless he begged for it. Maybe. But he seriously doubted it. Still his optics opened and he blinked as he saw a cube of energon sitting in his line of sight on a small table. Concern and hesitation halted his movements for a split astrosecond before he quickly sat up and went over to it, grabbing it and began drinking. It never tasted so good and he could feel some of spilling as he tried drinking it all in a hurry but he didn't care. Too soon the cube was finished and the low fuel indicator was gone but he knew it would take more to get his levels at full capacity.

"Better?"

Bee whirled at the voice, optics widening as he stared at the seeker who was sitting on a chair just off to the side. He didn't move except to slowly sit up from where he had been sitting with his elbows on his knees, chin resting over folded digits. His wings gave the lightest of twitches but otherwise remain motionless.

"Starscream? You-You're here? I-I thought you just left, not joined Megatron of all mechs! Where's Skyfire? Is he alright? What about the others like-like Skywarp and everybot else? And where am I for that matter?" he demanded, looking around the room he realized it was very plain with no other entrance except for a door that still looked locked, a small table and a chair the seeker occupied, and a berth he was sitting on. A berth, that was most certainly not his own. "Whose berth is this?"

"This room, belongs to Megatron and it's the only one with a lock," the red-violet seeker said, optics narrowing slightly. "He ordered us not to have anything to do with you either, even deny you any fuel."

"… so, you are working for him?"

"Bumblebee-"

"Just answer my question."

"… yes-" Had he not been watching him so closely he might not have noticed the empty cube being hurled at his helm where it shattered as it hit the wall behind him. He quickly got to his peds and tried reaching out for the smaller mech but the scout was already moving off the berth, looking at him angrily. "List-"

"No! You-You sold me out. I thought-I thought you cared about me, or at least cared about the sparkling, _your_ sparkling! I didn't have to keep her, I didn't have to trust you, I could have just never said anything and not be treated like like like some unwanted glitch! But you go and do this to me, betray me to _Megatron_ of all bots?"

His words hurt, each accusation like a laser scalpel piercing his spark chamber, but the seeker could also feel anger starting to boil. If only he could understand he was doing this for the sparkling! For the both of them! He tried to move around the berth but the scout kept moving, refusing to stand still. "Will you-" He moved but the scout kept mirroring his own steps in a game of keep away. "-just listen-" He tried to trick him out by moving to the side then quickly back in order to catch him but he had forgotten how fast he was. "-to what I-" He quickly raced to the other side of the berth only to growl when Bee managed to climb over it to the other side. "-what I have to—stop moving!"

"Frag you, Deceptiscum!"

"That is it!" Blue optics widen as the seeker ignited his thrusters and flew at him over the berth, ready to tackle him but Bumblebee immediately threw the sheet on the berth up, causing the seeker to get tangled into it and crash into the wall in an undignified heap. Turning he ran to the door, cursing when he found it still locked but it didn't stop him from pounding on it.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" he screamed as loud as he could, even going so far as to try and pry the door open with his digits. He vaguely heard the sheet being torn to shreds, of thrusters activating until he felt servos wrap around his chassis and pulled him from the door. Bee didn't go down fighting as he clawed at the plating, even grabbing the arm mounted gun and ripping it free. There was a flurry of movement and before he could do anything he found himself flat on his backplates, one of his stabilizers trapped beneath the seeker's, and his servos pinned down at either side of his helm. While he couldn't move it didn't quell his anger as he glared up at the seeker. "I hate you. _I hate you!_ "

"… I wish it didn't have to be this way." Using his greater mass, Starscream shifted the yellow servos up so he could hold both of them over the scout's helm with one servo and reached down, trying to locate the latches to his chassis. He growled when Bumblebee began to struggle more, but this time in an effort to get away instead of fighting him.

"Wh-What are you doing?" Oh Primus, he was going to kill him, he was going to crush his spark! "Please, don't do this!"

"Be quiet," he growled and heard the all too familiar sounds of transformation and watched as the plating folded back until he could see the frantically pulsing spark pulsing just below him. It was still as lovely as he last saw it, but he forced the plates to stay open as he gave the internal command to open his own. With no warning, he leaned down and felt the energies of their sparks merge.

Both were bombarded with memories and most importantly emotions they had been experiencing since their last merge. Most of it was pleasant, thinking about the future with their sparkling, deciding on designations and wondering who she would look like more, what personality she would develop. But the seeker now felt the anxiety he had put the minibot in when he was gone for long periods of time only to return without saying where he had been, of him trying to ask his clones where he might have gone only for them to answer that they didn't know. Then it was followed by the intense worry when the seekers began to go missing one by one without a trace and the anxiety grew. Starscream couldn't help but feel terrible at the stress he was causing him and wanted to explain everything but instead he decided to show him.

He showed him the first time Megatron proposition him into rejoining as his second-in-command, the threats against the two of them, even being confronted by his clones he refused to tell them where he was going but made them swear to protect them in his place. Then orders came to capture Bulkhead and bring him here; he had thought if he obeyed without question, that if he didn't fight or try to oppose Megatron that Bee and the sparkling would be safe. The seeker's last thoughts were of sneaking into the room, carrying him to the berth and watching as he recharged, of how sorry he was for hurting him and how he wished there had been another way. Slowly, he pulled back, feeling his spark doing the same, plates closing. He removed his servo and watched as the plates closed before looking at the dark silver faceplates.

"Now do you understand? Everything I have done, was to protect the both of you," Starscream spoke lowly, slowly releasing his servos but resting his own on either side of his helm, leaning over him.

"… you're a glitch," Bumblebee whispered, still upset but he had seen everything during the merge. Slowly, he drew his servos up and wrapped them around his neck cables, pulling himself up as he hugged him tightly. "I-I should be mad at you, I'm _still_ mad at you… but, I get it, you didn't have a choice," he murmured against his audio receiver.

"Bumblebee…" Primus, Starscream knew he was going to get it later but he didn't care as he slowly sat up and wrapped his servos around him, holding him as tightly as he could. He shouldn't even be in here, that walking trash bot said Bee wouldn't be here if he obeyed each and every one of his orders and didn't try to usurp his seat as the Decepticon leader; that he would leave him alone. "I swear by the shattered remains of the AllSpark, I will get you both far from here."

* * *

When Optimus received the message from Ratchet about a very possible location of the Decepticons, he and Sentinel immediately sped through the streets of New Detroit as fast as they could. It was slightly hindered by the humans and their non-sentient vehicles slowing them down considerably but the rapid arrival of Prowl with his siren blaring loudly encouraged them to quickly move out of the way. Sentinel immediately called for both Jetfire and Jetstorm to fly ahead and report anything suspicion. They had responded immediately, thrusters on full power as they flew ahead.

"How much longer until we arrive, Prowl?" Optimus asked the ninja as their tires tore up the dirt road, resisting the urge to increase his speed and go around him.

"Not much further, but we need to make sure we don't let them know we're coming or they may try to stop us," he responded.

"Right."

"So what's the plan when we find their hideout? We don't exactly have any backup and even if we had a direct comm link to Cybertron it'll take them too long to send anyone to help," Sentinel brought up, for once thinking reasonably.

"Ratchet and Psyche both believe that the reason they may have captured Bulkhead is he is the only one who knows how to properly work a space bridge, and if that's true, he no doubts wants to bridge enough of his army here to conquer earth."

"But why this primitive planet? Couldn't he take it over with the glitches he has now?"

"I don't pretend to know how Megatron's processor works, and I don't want to. But regardless what his plans are we can't let it happen."

"We're approaching the mines, everyone quiet your engines!" Prowl quickly hissed as he quickly tapped on his brakes, the firetruck and snow plow following suit. With barely a hum they practically crawled followed and they could make out the opening of an old mine facing a creek. It looked innocent enough except for the numerous tracks and large prints that clearly did not belong to any human. Stopping out front they wordlessly transformed and the two Primes looked around but the Cyber Ninja knelt and studied the prints. "This is the place."

"Are you certain, Prowl?" Optimus asked even as he quietly knelt at his side, looking at the marks in the dirt.

"Affirmative. These prints are fresh, and certainly not made from any technology here on Earth," he said and looked at the inside of the cave. "There's no telling if they have any traps set up but the more time we spend out here the more danger Bulkhead is likely in." Optimus frowned but he agreed completely.

"Scrap. Jetstorm, Jetfire, report," Sentinel called over his comm but frowned when he heard static playing back. "That's an order, you two. Report." Nothing but more static even as he lowered his servo from his receiver. "The jettwins aren't answering. They may be annoying but they always respond."

"We have to assume the worse and go in," the red and blue Prime said as he slowly stood, optics narrowing. "Prepare for anything and keep communicate as need to know. We do not separate. I repeat, we do not separate." Hearing agreements he slowly walked into the cave followed by Prowl and then Sentinel.

The tunnels were large enough that they could walk straight and they could see rusty remains of rail tracks on the ground as well as broken carts, a few still standing filled with chunks of coal. The urge to turn on their headlights was strong but instead they adjusted their optics, letting them navigate better in the darkness. Soon they entered a large cavern that was massive. Looking up they could see that while it was still being mined ledges had been carved out and there were even more caves leading deeper inside. The Autobots looked around, silently wondering which one they should take when they were forced to scatter or risk getting blown up.

"Foolish Autobots! You dare to trespass what Lord Megatron has claimed?!" Lugnut bellowed angrily from above them. "I will gladly present Lord Megatron your sparkless frames!"

"Not before I get to play medic," Oil Slick smirked as he appeared from another cave, smirking down at them. "No outdated medbot, huh? Too bad, so sad. But I'll be sure to thank him for sending me more patients to experiment on."

"I think we lost the element of surprise, Optimus 'ole buddy," Sentinel said lowly but he didn't waste anytime in activating his Skyboom shield and just in time as it protected his helm from getting smashed with a sudden flail. Knocking it away he also summoned his battle lance as the toxic green and black mech jumped down to his level.

Lugnut tried to drive the other two Autobots into the ground when he landed, but all he managed was to create a small crater but it didn't stop him from charging at the other Prime, swinging his massive fist. "Glory to the Decepticons!" he shouted proudly.

Optimus was not going to underestimate the dark purple and green 'Cons, and no amount of talking was going to help, but if they kept making so much noise the others would find out and the element of surprise would be lost. He tried to get at him from behind but for such a large mech he was able to move swiftly and deterred him. Soon he and Sentinel were forced backplate to backplate, doing their best to keep from getting trashed. Looking around he was surprised and shocked to see Prowl slumped against a far wall, his chassis heavily dented. "Prowl!"

"This shall be the glorious day of triumph for Decepticons galaxies over!" the overly proud warrior shouted, ready to activate his most treasured weapon and eliminate the two Primes.

"Hurry up and do it already!" Oil Slick snapped, feeling his processor ache from all of this glitch's "overly loud praises" he failed to realize an engine was revving all around him that he looked and noticed about ten motorcycles having surrounded them. "W-What the frag?!" he shouted. The motorcycles began racing around them in a circle, kicking up large amounts of carbon dust, blinding the mechs being surrounded but the chemist failed to realize his chain had been lifted from his frame and that only one motorcycle was carrying it as he drove around them in a tighter circle.

"Prime! Fire your grappling line, now!"

"Prowl?" He couldn't see anything due to the coal dust but it didn't stop him from lifting his arm up and firing his grabbling hook out. It managed to grab one of the wooden frames at a tunnel above them he wasted no time in grabbed Sentinel's arm. "Hang on!"

"Wait what-?" Anything else was lost as he screamed (shouted, he would later argue, in surprise) as he was lifted into the air and immediately wrapped his own arms around the other mech, suddenly feeling his peds leave the solid ground to which his tanks churned at the prospect of being very high off the ground and unable to see what was going on. He grunted as he felt the rough terrain of the cave's walls scratch at his plating but he didn't dare try and rub the organic material from his optics leave he fall to what would surely be his demise. "What's going on? What's happening?" he demanded and winced as he heard the sound and felt the vibrations of a slightly muffled explosion echo through the massive cavern. "What was that?"

Prowl transformed into his root mode, looking with satisfaction as the sight of both Lugnut and Oil Slick entangled in the chemist's chain, both clearly offline due to the P.O.K.E. having been used against the both of them. It had been risky, and there was a slight dent on his chassis just below his holo-projector was situated but thankfully it was still functional. He looked up where both Prime hung from the grappling line and strongly resisted the urge not to grin at the sight of Sentinel having wrapped both arms around Optimus' waist, his stabilizers around his as though he was held over the entrance to the Pitt itself and the other mech was his saving grace.

"It's alright, the two Decepticons won't be giving us anymore trouble," he called out to them.

"Prowl? Is-Is that you?" Optimus called out, reaching up with one servo he managed to wipe away some of the dust from his optics but he could see a somewhat make out the black and gold frame. "But… I thought you had been offlined by Lugnut," he said even as he lowered the two of them down, wincing as the gears strained under their combined mass.

"He nearly did but I fooled him at the last moment with a hologram of myself to make him think that as I hid in the shadows. When I saw they had the both of you trapped I created several more to confuse them. In the ensuring confusion I took a hold of Oil Slick's chained flail and ensnared the both of them once I told you to use your grappling line."

"I see, and the explosion?"

"Lugnut failed to retreat his weapon of choice and it detonated between the two of them. There's no telling if the other Decepticons heard or if the massive cavern and multiple tunnels managed to break up the noise, but we had better hurry," he said and offered his Prime a cloth.

"Thanks. Quick thinking on using your projector, but I still wish you would tell me your plans beforehand," he said, carefully wiping the rest of the dust away from his optics. Once he could see clearly, he looked down at Sentinel who was still clinging to him like a scraplet. "… Sentinel, you can let go now."

"What?" he didn't believe him but slowly reaching out with one ped he discovered he was actually on the ground and took the offered cleaning cloth into his servo and rubbed the black dust away. Sure enough they were on the ground and he still had one servo clinging to that of the other Prime. He quickly scrambled to his peds and busied himself with cleaning the rest of the dust off his frame. He had heard what the two were talking about and seeing the defeated 'Cons he was impressed.

 _'_ _I think I underestimated this team of maintenance bots,'_ he thought to himself. He tossed the cloth into his subspaced and followed after the two Autobots. Reaching up he tried contacting the jettwins but all he could hear was static. "I still can't reach Jetfire or Jetstorm."

"I, too, had difficulty sending either of you a private comm link even though we were all in the same cavern," the ninja quietly admitted.

"It could be due to the interference of the coal in the mine itself. Remember, we do not separate no matter what," Optimus explained. They could hear talking and motioning to be quiet they crept closer and peered around the corner. What they saw made their optics widen at the site before them.

In a massive cavern the Constructicons and their missing comrade Bulkhead were busy working on the structure of a space bridge, slightly smaller than ones the Autobots used for their own ships but it was real. Watching it all happening was Megatron himself and he looked immensely proud of himself.

"I don't believe it… the Decepticons have an actual space bridge…" Optimus vented quietly, trying not to believe it but the proof was right in front of them.

"But, it won't work! Only the best scientists know how to operate it!" Sentinel hissed at them. "It won't work!"

The captured Autobot pulled back, checking the schematics he knew by spark and vented quietly, once more offering an apology to his friends and teammates. "W-We're done with the space bridge," he said, unsure if he was doing the right thing but what other choice did he have?

"Is that so?" The tyrannical warlord looked at the massive machine, frowning slightly but turned to look at him. "What are you waiting for, Autobot?"

"Right…" Slowly the green hostage made his way over to the control and hesitantly, pushed a large button. At first nothing happened but after a few kliks the machine hummed as power was fed through the cables. Optics watched as the power was directed inside the machine, energy crackling as it began to form until there was a pulsing sphere of energy in the center, the power was enough to cause the entire cave it was house in to tremble and shake. The Decepticons had a working space bridge!

Megatron let out a deep chuckle before it escalated into a full-blown laugh that sent chills down the spinal struts of the Autobots and even his own mech. "Finally! At long last I will be able to lead my troops back to Cybertron and reclaim what is rightfully mine!" he declared, pleased that the fruition of his plans was coming together. A sudden explosion behind him caused him to turn and watched as his most hated enemy and his team raced into the cave, ready to fight.

"You're not leading anyone anywhere, Megatron!" Optimus declared, holding his axe tightly. He was taken back when the Decepticon leader smirked but realized it too late.

Mindwipe onlined his optics and let out an audio piercing shriek at the Autobots. They fumbled, clearly taken back but it was enough for Scrapper to charge at Sentinel and slam him into the wall of the cave, nearly knocking him offline. Optimus and Prowl made to help him but Mixmaster transformed his servo and sprayed them with enough quick drying cement that the two found themselves trapped, unable to move. The same was done to Sentinel as soon as Scrapper moved out of the way, trapping him as well.

"Optimus Prime. I knew you would be coming, I even made sure to have a warm reception waiting for you," the warlord smirked. "You even brought guests of your own. I am glad I had enough of my men to be prepared."

"O-Optimus!" Bulkhead made to go to his team but was halted by Scrapper and Mixmaster. "I'm sorry, they gave me no choice. It was either build them a space bridge… or, they were gonna use a Headmaster unit and use my frame to attack the city."

"It's alright, Bulkhead. We will find a way out of this situation," Prowl said calmly.

"He's right; you'll never succeed, Megatron! There are other Autobots out there and we will defeat you!"

"Is that so? Do you mean these Autobots?" There was movement in the shadows and the slightly battered and dented forms of Jetstorm and Jetfire were brought into the light by Starscream's clones, both of them sporting a pair of stasis cuffs binding their servos. Both looked surprised but also apologetic as their optics dimmed.

Sentinel groaned, optics flickering, he moving around but came online fully when he found himself pinned with the same quick drying cement as the others. "J-Jettwins-s-s…"

"S-Sentinel, s-s-sir!" Jetstorm stuttered but the cuffs were messing up his system. "We is-s sorr-r-r-ries-s…"

"We is-s-s not coming go-go-go-od…" Jetfire stuttered, trying to remain standing on his own peds.

"S-So right… least, you two are still online…"

"I see Autobots continued to care about others instead of their own sparks, but can the same be said for someone who refuses to align himself with either fraction?" Giving an unseen gesture Blitzwing and Cyclonus walked out of the shadows behind him, dragging a larger frame between them. The mechs were tense and they swore they could feel their sparks dropping into their tanks as the two 'Cons stopped just behind the warlord, their servos the only thing keeping the badly injured shuttle from hitting the ground. The mech did manage to lift his helm when he heard the worried cries from the twins, optics very dim; Skyfire didn't appear very coherent, but there was another concern on the Autobots' processor. If the large neutral and the cloned seekers were here, then who was watching over their sparked friend? Optics turned as they heard ped steps coming from another tunnel and they could feel their sparks sinking further into their tanks as Starscream wordlessly and slowly walked out of the tunnel, his servo curled around the shoulder of a bright yellow mech who held his cuffed servos over his swollen midsection protectively. Upon seeing his friends captured Bumblebee tried to go to them but was halted as servos gripped his shoulder joints firmly.

"Mechs… I…" His vocalizer failed him, briefly shutting his optics tightly he flinched and pressed himself into the seeker behind him when the warlord let out a dark chuckle. He could feel the red-violet 'Con tensing behind him even as the clawed digits curled around him in a protective manner.

"What you have failed to realize, Optimus Prime, is that you have lost," the dark gray mech proclaimed even as he stood before his activated space bridge, his enemy trapped all around him, powerless to stop him. "There is no one else to save you or stop me. No one."

* * *

"C'mon start up!" Ratchet growled under his vents, turning on every button he could think of but it was no use. Nothing was responding. Staring at the console he lifted his servo and slammed it down as hard as he could, cursing everything in his anger. But as quickly as it came it just as quickly left and he gently stroked the panel he had struck in rage. "I'm sorry, old friend… but we, we need your help now more than ever."

Sari looked over at the grumpy medic and once more she wondered who he was talking to. She had tried asking once but he had been so vague, and now, well she didn't have the energy to ask. As soon as Prowl had left she and the two medics had raced to the docks and "borrowing" a large barge, sailed to Dinobot Island as fast as they could. When they arrived, they saw evidence of a fight and found three badly injured Dinobots, but no sign of either Bumblebee or Skyfire. That didn't settle well for any of them but they repaired the Dinobots to the best of their ability even if they had to leave them behind with a promise of bringing their friend back. Now they were on the ship the Autobots had crashed landed in, trying to start it up with no success.

Psyche looked at the mech, worry, concern, and a sad look of understanding in her optics. She silently moved to his side and hesitated for a moment before she reached out to cover his servo. "Ratch, it's been a long time… what, what if he's no more?" she asked quietly.

"You don't know him… now like I did," he said quietly, still looking down at the console. "He's in deep stasis… perhaps, he just doesn't want to wake up…" Would it so wrong to let the titan rest like he always wanted? The smaller servo atop of his squeezed and he found himself gripping it tightly, seeking strength from it.

The techno-organic watched them and more than anything she wanted to help. There had to be something they could do. _'Think Sari, think! This is the only way to rescue Bumblebee and Skyfire but it won't start up. What can we do to start it up?'_ she asked herself, frowning deeply as she tried to think of something before a proverbial lightbulb went off in her mind. "What if we jump-start the ship's engines?" she offered.

Psyche looked over at the tiny femme, frowning slightly. "Jump what?"

"Jump-start. We give the engine a boost of power to get it working again. People do it all the time when their cars won't start!"

"But, we need an exceptionally large power source to even generate enough power to power the engines and last long enough to work. And being here on an island in the middle of Lake Erie doesn't give us a lot of options."

"… jump-start…" Ratchet whispered to himself, his optics slowly brightening at the thought process. "Energy source… strong enough to… to jump-start, his engines…"

"Ratchet?"

"It, just might work," he said to no one before turning to facing the confused femmes. "It really might work!"

"Okay…?"

"Ratchet, we don't have enough power to try-"

"We do. It-It may not be a lot, but…" He paused and quietly left the command room without saying a word. Both femmes looked at each other, confusion clearly etched on their faces but soon the mech returned and he was carrying a large container. He set it down and opening it revealed several glowing shards that gave an unearthly light. "It's not a lot, but if a single AllSpark fragment can give Earth-based vehicles a spark, then maybe these will be enough to re-activate a Cybertronium that already has a spark."

The shards looked almost miniscule in the medic's servo, but it was true that because of it there was the "birth" of the Constructicons, and Starscream's clones. "Win or lose, it's better than doing nothing," Psyche said with a nod. "Go and let me know when they're in the spark chamber."

"Right." Turning he quickly ran from the command room, praying to Primus for this to work, for them not to be too late. The halls seemed too long and even though his vehicle mode wasn't built for speed it didn't matter for as soon as all four wheels touched the floor he was going as fast as he could.

"Sari, I'm gonna need your help," the femme said as she began moving around the command panel, constantly on the move. The human didn't stop to ask why, zipping through the air doing what she could. Soon they could hear Ratchet's vocalizer through the comm system that he was ready. "Brace yourself," she called back as she moved to the console once more and felt her vents stall. "Please work."

"C'mon old friend, we need you more than ever," he whispered under his vents, watching as the shards began to glow softly. "I swear, once this is done I'll let you slip back into stasis if that's what you really want, but we need you for one last mission." The medic found it hard to believe in Primus having seen too much to even believe the ancient deity existed but if they ever needed a miracle as the humans would say, now was the time. His optics widen as he watched the glow increase, filling the chamber his audios picked up the sounds of engines starting up, sputtering briefly before roaring to life. He stumbled slightly when he felt the entire ship rumble slightly and found himself smiling as he heard Psyche confirm everything.

"Systems are completely online! You did it, Ratchet!"

"Not yet!" he shouted as he turned his attention back to the chamber. "C'mon buddy, I know you can do this… focus on my vocalizer," he said as gently as he could, feeling his vents stall. "Please…"

"… ra… ratchet… is, is that you…?" The voice was a deep bass and the ship rumbled with it but it brought a smile of relief to the white and red medic. There's… There's Decepticons everywhere! I don't think I'm going to make it-"

"It's alright, friend. War's over.

"It… it is? … Did we win?"

The medic let out a chuckle as he walked up to the chamber and gently rested his servo on the protective plating. "Yeah, we won. Thanks to you." Whether he realized it or not the two femmes on the bridge were listening in. Psyche was smiling softly but Sari looked just as confused as ever.

"Wait, the ship can talk? It's _alive?_ " she asked in disbelief.

"Technically, the big mech hasn't been "alive" for over two million stellar cycles," the fembot explained as she tried pulling up vitals on the main screen. "He's the reason the Autobots won the war and ended up sacrificing his spark for it but Ratchet fought not to have him melted down in the end so he was placed in this modified stasis ever since."

"There's, so much I-I can't remember…" the deep voice said, sounding worried and concerned.

"'m afraid we're gonna have to catch up later. Right now, we need your help."

"I-I don't know if I can, Ratchet.. I…"

"Trust me you will with the help of my friends we'll have you, if you forgive the pun, ship shape in no time." Looking at the comm systems he didn't bat an optic as he knew the femmes had been listening. "Psyche, I need you to have a look at his memory core data banks and see what you can do."

"I'll be right down," she said.

"I can help! Or I can try, just tell me what to do!" Sari said before the femme could run out of the bridge.

"Even I can't deny your help," she smiled and gestured for her to follow. It didn't take them long to get down into the chamber where Ratchet was still speaking to the ship. "Hey big guy, I wish we had more time for introductions but I have to be quick. I'm Psyche, this is our techno-organic friend Sari, and we're gonna see about repairing your memory core data banks," the fembot said even as she opened a panel at the back of her panel.

"O-Okay… but, why can't I see?" he asked even as a panel on the wall opened to reveal a data cable which the femme took and plugged into her helm.

"That's because your optic sensors are still buried in rock," the mech explained as he moved around the room. The three of them were working together, reassuring the ship that he was with friends and everything was going to be alright. "How's it looking, Psyche?"

"Badly. He's got a lot of missing data that's not making sense but it could be during the last war or during stasis," she said with a frown. "But, the banks that control his functions such as flight are good to go."

"Does that mean he can still fly?" Sari asked hopefully as she finished pushing in the last data bank back into place.

"And more."

"You hear that? We've done all we can but now its up to you," Ratchet told the ship. "You have to pull yourself out from the side of the cliff!"

The ship didn't answer with words but there was another rumble that shook the entire ship. Outside the engine's thrusters were warming up even as they slowly roared to life. The ship seemed to tremble and everyone was bracing themselves. "I… don't… think… I… can…!" the deep voice grunted, struggling to free himself from his earthly prison.

"Don't worry, I'm-" he paused when he felt a slim servo grip his and looked over at the fembot as she stood next to him, looking intently at the chamber which continued to house the AllSpark fragments. "- _we're_ right here with you," Ratchet told him as encouraging as he could.

"Give it everything you got!" Psyche encouraged as well, tightening her servo around the mech's.

"You can do it!" Sari shouted to the ship.

The engines rumbled even louder, more rock tumbling around them outside but slowly, the massive dark yellow-range ship pulled itself free and was soon flying away from the island. Inside the spark chamber the trio let out cheers of joy. They had all done it.

"E-Everyone, I'm flying!" the ship said joyfully. Free from the cliffside his sensors were completely open but he was confused at the scenery all around him. "But this doesn't look like Cybertron."

"I know, it's a long story," Ratchet sighed, feeling the femme vented softly and leaned into him, whether she realized it or not. _'I just hope we make it in time.'_

* * *

Things were looking bleak for the Autobots and even now sitting on the floor of the massive cave, they were all bearing stasis cuffs and what was worse was Oil Slick and Lugnut had been located and released from the chemist's chain. Neither were happy being mocked for having been duped by three Autobots but the warlord threaten frame crushing damage if they did not silence their vocalizer.

"With your Elite Guards currently preoccupied with the Decepticon uprisings at the rim of the galaxy, I will use my Space Bridge to lead my Decepticons into the heart of Cybertron itself and take over," Megatron smirked as he gazed at the pulsing blue energy. "I will also be able to gain complete control over the Space Bridge Network and will then be able to transport all Decepticon anywhere I desire. And it all thanks to your expert Space Bridge technician. Your fate is sealed now, Autobots."

Bulkhead ducked his helm down, now wondering if he shouldn't have just continued to refuse to build him the slagging machine in the first place.

"Wait, Bulkhead build _that_?" Bumblebee asked in disbelief and turned astonied optics to his best friend. "Where on Cybertron did you learn to do that?"

"I had a lot of time to study space bridge schematics back on the energon farm. I just had a knack for 'em, I guess," he explained quietly.

"Oh, well, that's great. So the _one thing_ you're good at is going to hand Cybertron over to the Decepticons," he snarked but instantly regretted it at he hurt look in his optics. "Sorry, Bulkie."

"You're right, but its not that easy. The Space Bridge is pretty much useless without a receiving code and you need to have somebody already on Cybertron," he said smugly. His smug grin fell when the warlord's smirk grew. _'I got a really bad feeling 'bout this.'_

"Are you by chance referring to me?" The Autobots blinked and looked over at a communication screen as a slight fuzzy image appeared, the silhouette of mech they had never seen was vaguely seen before the image cleared up.

"Lo-Longarm?" Bumblebee whispered, optics widening as his spark began to race painfully in his chassis. No, no it couldn't be…

"Wh-What is the meaning of this-s?!" Sentinel demanded as he struggled to his knee joints. "Why is a Primeme communicating with Megatronn of all mechs?!"

"I never understood why the High council named you to be a Prime, everything just seems highly—illogical." The bots watched in shock as his plating began to fold back, literally transforming as his faceplates revealed a narrow helm with a single bright red optic. "However, in order to gain a position as the head of Cybertron Intelligence I had to deal with inferior glitches such as you and your "seekers"."

"Shockwave, is the Space Bridge operational on Cybertron?" Megatron demanded.

"Yes, Lord Megatron. But I am afraid my cover may have has been—compromised." There was a small window of opportunity for the plan to succeed but he was determined not to fail. "Ultra Magnus has become increasingly suspicious and it is only a matter of time-"

"Why are you telling me this? Deal with the matter quickly! And for your sake, it had better not interfere with my plans," the gray mech warned and turned to the rest of his troops as the undercover spy bowed and ended communications on his end. "Decepticons! Prepare for our conquest of Cybertron!" All around the cave the Decepticons began cheering loud, seeing victory just within their servos.

"What's a Cybertron?" Scrapper asked the other Constructicon as he scratched his helm in confusion.

"I have no idea, he lost me at "Your fate is sealed now"," Mixmaster admitted.

Bumblebee couldn't believe it, Longarm had been lying to him since he first met him, and while he wasn't his best friend he thought he could still count on him. Did Longarm ever exist? He let out a soft keen of pain as he gripped his chassis tightly, feeling his spark pulsing even more painfully. Was everything he knew, was it all a lie?

Slipstream, who was the closest to him, quickly knelt at his side, looking at him worriedly. "Bumblebee, are you alright?" she asked quietly, feeling the concern of her brothers over the bond they shared but they were afraid to move. He tried to tell her no, that he was far from okay but instead he let out another painful keen, wishing he was anywhere but here.

Megatron glanced at the minibot and sneered. "Silence that infernal whimpering, or I will," he threatened darkly.

The femme frowned and wrapped her servos around Bee, trying to get him to calm down but he couldn't stop keening, even as Skywarp came to his other side, gently rubbing his own servo down his backplates. Starscream looked at him quietly, a somewhat pensive look on his optics but he knew there would be no going back after this. But he would do so with no regrets.

"No."

That one single word silenced the entire cave, the hum of the Space Bridge's mechanics the only noise as well as the pained keens that continued to come from the carrier. Megatron froze for an astrosecond before slowly turning to face his SIC. "What did you say?"

"… I said no. You obviously can't see that he is in pain and you don't care about his well-being or that of his sparkling," the seeker coldly pointed out, wings arched high on his backplates, twitching angrily.

"He is only good for one thing, why should it matter if all that he thought he knew was a grand lie," the warlord said dismissively with a lazy wave of his servo. "The only thing he should know is how to please his new master and produce strong, worthy sparklings until his usefulness has ended."

In the past the seeker would have been in a similar thought process, that the minibot was only good for a good frag, to fulfill his dark desires; the sparkling was an accident, pure and simple, and he had been of a mind to have it terminated but it went against his programming as much as he hated to admit it. Then, he got to know the minibot, see the qualities he originally thought of as flaws were now quirks and strengths he hoped the sparkling would inherit.

A sparkling he helped create.

 _His_ sparkling.

His. Mate.

The AllSpark fragment pulsed strong, wings snapped open to their fullest, digits curled to emphasize the razor-sharp claws, and thrusters igniting even as he rushed at his commanding leader with such force and speed he slammed him into the console of the Space Bridge. Claws dug deeply into the gray and red chassis, trying to rip it open as his optics burned brightly.

"You will never harm my mate!" he shrieked, attacking the warlord with a fierce intensity it left everyone stunned even as he pulled back, aiming his arm-mounted gun at the other mech's faceplates with the full intention to attack. But Megatron was quick to get over his shock and gripped the arm tightly, forcing it up and away from him, the gunshot firing into the ceiling and blasting a rather impressive hole. Rocks rained down on them but it may as well been dust as the two continued to grabble with one another.

Megatron grunted as he managed to grab the other arm and used all his strength to keep the enraged jet from clawing his spark from his chassis. He was dimly aware that the laser fire could have blasted a hole at least the size of his own fist straight through his helm had he not forced the gun away and he never knew his traitorous SIC to be this strong; he wondered if he was being influenced by the fragment that glinted in the middle of his forehelm. Grunting he pushed at him far enough that he was able to lift a ped and kicked him off, breaking the faux glass of his cockpit. The jet went skidding back and nearly hit the opposite wall from the force had he not flared his wings and dug his servos into the ground, tearing it up; he hissed angrily as he held a servo over his damaged chassis, wings now vibrating in pure rage. Turning to his pitiful army, who continued to stand there like processor damaged glitches, the warlord roared at them angrily, " **Stop him!** "

Cyclonus was the first to move, unleashing his swords he ignited his own thrusters, charging at the seeker but instead he clashed with the hissing form of Sunstorm, who smirked as he boldly grabbed the blades themselves and absorbed the dark energy that he had built up. "You cannot win this war, I have seen the outcome and you are all doomed," he growled lowly.

"Is that right? Thank you for such insightful views, I'll be sure to pass it along," he grinned and tightened his grip over the blades, ignoring the sharp edges that cut deeply into his servos. He could feel the dark, foreign energies being filtered by his systems but he pushed on, refusing to let the other jet any closer.

Blitzwing managed to shake himself from his stupor and leveled his guns down, originally aiming for Starscream but as though a silent command was given the other seekers charged forward, attacking the other Decepticons with such intense fury it made Hothead seem almost tame. He tried to freeze them in place to even the odds in their favor but they moved so fast it was beginning to make him angry. His faceplates shifted and he growled as he felt his guns heat up. **"Hold still so I can blast joo!"**

"Aim better!" Slipstream taunted, nimbly avoiding the fiery blast.

Ramjet barrel-rolled as he dove down, opening fire on the triple-changer. His laser fire scored several hits but he winced as he tried banking up only to have a blast of fire scorch his under carriage. Forced to bank sharply he transformed as he hovered in the air, glaring at the other mech. "Nice try, but you missed me by a megamile!"

 **"** **I did not! I blasted joo outta ze air!"**

"Did not!"

 **"** **Did too!**

"Did not!"

 **"** **Did too!"**

"Did too!"

 **"** **Did not!"** Faceplates shifted to that of Random who just could not help but get the final word in. "Times infinity!" he cackled but stopped when he realized the white jet-former smirked at him and growled angrily. With no warning he transformed into a tank and tried blasting the pathological liar into melted scrap.

Thundercrack hissed as he raked his claws over the walking glitch Lugnut's faceplates, managing to destroy two of his optics on the side of his helm but he was quickly pulled into a frame crushing embrace. "R-Release me this instant!" he commanded, struggling against the mech but sadly, he was much stronger than he. "Do you realize who I am?!"

"I will crush your spark in your frame and present your helm to our glorious leader!" Lugnut declared, tightening his arms around him. Metal was beginning to give way under the pressure but the blue-violet seeker refused to give up or shut up for that matter. Even Oil Slick and Slipstream were involved in a deadly dance that would have been memorizing and awe-inspiring had the others not been fighting. The Chemist was not above using the other 'Cons as a launching pad to hurl himself into the air, bringing him close to the violet/turquoise femme but she was quick to evade him and more than once knocked him into the ground. She smirked as she watched him crash land onto the seeker-wannabe who seemed to prefer hiding than fighting.

"Nice catch!" she taunted sarcastically, hovering in the air high above them.

"Get off!" Mindwipe complained, grimacing as the other 'Con pushed himself up and continued fighting against the femme. He looked around and saw that Megatron and his former SIC were still fighting, trying to blast one another with their weapons. The Earth-sparked Constructicons were actually running from the one he had heard be referred to as the most cowardly of the seekers except this seeker was acting like some enraged, wild beastformer, snarling at them and swiping at them with his clawed digits. Looking around he saw that the minibot had overcome his despair, his own cuffs laying on the ground and was now trying to remove the stasis cuffs from those of his teammates. _'I think not, little carrier.'_

"Almost there—got it!" There was a soft click and the stasis cuffs shorted, clicking open they fell to the ground. "You okay, boss bot?"

"Y-Yeah, help me free the others." Optimus said, rubbing his servos to try and get the energon flowing again. Nodding Bee moved to Prowl, looking over occasionally to where Starscream was trying to gouge out the Decepticon leader's optics. He moved over to free Sentinel when he felt a dark presence in the back of his processor. "…!"

 _'_ _I know what you truly desire… you are not as noble as you claim to be.'_

"Y-You don't know me," he hissed and tried to focus.

"Optimus?"

 _'_ _Oh but I do! Who knows you better, than yourself…'_

Servos faltered but no matter how hard he tried they would not stop shaking. "Shu-Shut up," he growled lowly, optics flickering but the dark voice continued.

 _'_ _This is your chance. Take back what was taken from you, get revenge for those that betrayed you, submit and give yourself over,'_ the dark voice purred, poisoning his processor. _'Give yourself over to me… you know you want to.'_

Sentinel was concerned when he saw the red and blue Prime twitch, servos fumbling to deactivate the stasis cuffs but he watched as they became still before slowly pulling back. He looked up at him but his helm was lowered and his optics were very dim. "Hey, are you alright?" There was no response but the helm slowly lifted and he watched in shock and fear as bright red optics started at him hatefully. "Op… Optimus?"

"… I am Nemesis Prime." A servo shot out and delivered sharp and powerful uppercut to the underside of his oversized jaw, causing the dark blue Prime's helm to snap back. The shock and force of the impact was so intense the mech was completely offline before he hit the ground. Nemesis slowly stood and made his way to where the minibot was struggling to remove the ninja's cuffs.

"C'mon! Why aren't they coming off?" he hissed, trying very hard not to panic but he couldn't focus, not with the way Prowl was humming. "You're not helping!"

"I'm trying a processor-over-matter focusing technique to try and remove these cuffs," he said lowly, trying not to draw attention to them.

"Wow. I didn't know you could do that!" Bulkhead exclaimed in surprise.

"It's only a theory since I have yet to complete my Circuit-Su training."

"Right now I'll take all the help-" Bumblebee froze when he saw a large shadow cast over him and slowly turned, looking up at the tall, slightly broad frame of his team leader but the glow in his optics was causing his spark to pulse erratically in fear. That was the same look he had given him when he tried to kill him. His entire frame began to tremble so violently his plating was rattling.

Nemesis Prime said nothing as he looked down at the yellow bot, remembering how it felt as he took him, how he longed to do it again. He reached down and grabbed an arm, ignoring the weak cry he let out as he pulled him off his peds, how he struggled to get free but he did grunt in pain/surprise as a brightly colored ped shot up and kicked him right in his grill. His optics burned brightly as he looked at the smaller mech with a rumbling growl that was steadily growing louder.

Bee blinked at the threatening growl only to gasp as the other servo came up and painfully wrapped around his neck cables, blunt digits digging painfully into wires. All too soon the other servo joined the first and he found himself being choked once again, but this time his friends were here and were unable to help him. _'N-Not my best—idea!'_ he thought to himself even as he clung to the servos holding him up.

"BUMBLEBEE!"

Starscream froze when he heard the worried shout and turned only to freeze at the sight of the annoying Prime currently strangling his mate, slowly trying to kill him. He had to help him, he had to protect him! He turned and made to charge at the mech, to tear him apart circuit by circuit but in his haze of protective anger he turned his back on his opponent who didn't waste a single moment to strike.

Megatron, having lost his fusion cannon to the crazed seeker, quickly unsheathed his trionium sword and struck. The smooth blade easily cut through the frame work, severing wires, slicing through plating, watching as the helm fell to the ground, optics flickering; kliks later the helmless frame fell to the floor with a loud crash, wings flickering slightly before going still. All of the fighting suddenly stopped but the warlord said nothing even as he quietly strolled over to the fallen bot. Pausing for a klik he reached down, forcing the chassis to open and stared down at the irregularly pulsing spark that continued to pulse in the chamber.

"… so it continues to live," he muttered mostly to himself.

"Oh course I still live!" Starscream's helm shouted, trying to right himself up but the sword had severed him right in the neck cables. He heard a chocked gasp and watched with wide optics as Bee's struggles were beginning to lessen. "Let him go!"

"You seem to forget Starscream, I give the orders around here," Megatron said as he slowly stood from examining the downed frame but not before giving it a swift kick, sending it rolling off to the side. "Mindwipe!" he barked loudly, startling more than one mech but all optics turned to the bat-like former who was staring at Optimus with brightly glowing optics.

The burgundy mech flinched as his name was yelled for a second time and turned his leader. "Y-Yes, Lord Megatron?"

"I require the Autobot carrier to still be able to function."

"Yes, of course, my Lord." Looking back to Optimus his derma plating moved but no sound came out. Instead everyone watched as the Prime's servos abruptly released Bumblebee who immediately fell to the ground, gasping for air and coughing up some energon. Parts of his throat were nearly caved in and more energon ran down his chassis from broken lines but he was still alive. The seekers had abandoned their own fights and were prepared to go to the minibot's aid but like their creator, they turned their backs on their opponents and now found themselves all of them on the ground, wearing stasis cuffs stolen from the Autobots. They had failed but their basic programming was still running hard beneath the surface.

The warlord turned, ready to continue with his plans when his designation was called. "Now what?" he growled lowly. He had had enough of these interruptions.

"I understand why you require the carrier, but do you still require the other prisoners?" Seeing the warning look he was being given he quickly explained himself. "I-I mean, would it not be better if we were to eliminate the prisoners here and now instead of waiting?"

"… if they are to believe I still exist, then I will need those the council have appointed themselves." He glanced over at the still out and hypnotized frames of both Primes who have yet to move. "What better way to break the trust the mechs have in their council, then by offlining their precious Primes right before their optics."

"Yeesss… but, that would mean the others are no longer of further use, no?" Vents halted, all mechs waiting but at the slight nod sparks fell. The slender mech bowed with a flourish and once more turning to the Prime said something.

The Autobots still couldn't make out where he was saying but they could only sit there and watched as Optimus began moving, moving past Bumblebee he moved to Prowl and with no warning, struck the ninja across the faceplates with a clenched fist but it didn't stop with one. He kept at it even as plating began to slowly give way under the pressure. The mechs shouted at him to stop, asking why he was doing this but he ignored them as he moved from the knocked out ninja to the green mech, ignoring his pained cries for him to stop as his fists created sizeable dents and even tried ripping plating open. Skyfire, who was still trying to fight off emergency stasis, was the only mech not wearing stasis cuffs but the Decepticons believed him to be of no threat. But he was still a seeker and he had the same programming as the others. He couldn't move swiftly, his thrusters and wings were too badly damaged to fly, but even so he was a large mech, slightly larger than the Prime and possibly Megatron. He had to try, or more mechs would continue to suffer.

Forcing his frame up the neutral charged at the Prime, slamming into him and sending them both to the ground. "These-se are your-r fri-ends, Op-ti-mus!" he shouted, pulling his servo back he brought it down, striking his faceplates even as the battle mask slid into place but he pulled the other fist back and struck him hard in the center of his chassis, shattering the glass in his windshield. Skyfire brought both servos together and lifted them high over his helm but screamed in pain as a blue servo reached out, grabbing at sensitive wires that had been left exposed by his earlier injuries and ripped them out. Energon was running faster than before, warnings and critical errors filling his HUD but the larger white seeker still brought his fists down, warping the battle mask in the process. "Lis-ten to me-me-me-me!"

"He'll only listen to me, neutral upstart!" Mindwipe growled lowly. "Get rid of that mech, my puppet!"

Nemesis stiffened but once more his servo dug into the injury, grabbing at more wires and cables, pulling hard enough that Skyfire had no choice but to grab his servo to keep him from pulling any more out. It left him open to be struck in his abdominal plating, further aggravating his internal injuries. Having distracted him, the controlled Prime knocked the massive mech off him, sending him rolling onto his front but he didn't stop there. He stomped down on the deep slash Cyclonus delivered to him earlier, making the mech cry out in so much pain his vocalizer was beginning to break up. The dark voice was encouraging him to keep it up, to make the mech an example. Digging his ped into the nearly exposed spinal strut he reached down, grabbed at the badly damaged wings, and began pulling. Everyone, including the 'Cons themselves, all winced at the audio splitting shriek the seeker let out as wires snapped and sparked, energon running freely and coating the floor. The possessed Prime faltered for a bit, optics flickering but the dark voice ordered him to continue, to prove to everybot here he was more than worth to be called a Prime-

 **~Stop it!~**

No. He was going to make this mech an example, he was going to rip this seeker's wings off and then he was going beat those worthless mechs into scrap.

 **~Optimus, please don't do this! This isn't you!~**

Who was this annoying voice calling him such? He was Nemesis Prime. He was going to take what should have been his in the beginning and no one was going to stop him or get in his way.

 **~Please, boss bot… don't do this… we're-we're your friends! We need you!~**

Of course they needed him, everybot needed him. And he had no use for friends… didn't he?

 **~Optimus… boss bot… p-please…~**

"… … nngh…!" His processor felt like it was splitting, that a ragged spike had been driven deeply into his forehelm and was now being ruthlessly being shaken side to side. Why, why did that seem so familiar? Didn't, didn't somebot used to call him that?

"Bo- ***zzrt*** b-bo- ***crackle*** …" Bumblebee was still on his knees, keeping himself up with a servo on the floor and the other wrapped around his throat cables. His optics were very dim and kept flickering but they were pleading with him, begging him to remember.

"… B… Bu… Bum-ble… Bumble-bee…?"

The minibot wanted to cry even as he coughed wetly, ignoring the energon and oil dripping past his derma plating, but he did give him a bitter sweet smile. **~Y-Yeah… it's me, boss-s-s bot…~**

"B-Bee… I—urk!" The sharp pain increased and he stumbled off Skyfire who had slipped into emergency stasis, wings barely hanging on by a few wires and cables. His servos came up, gripping his helm tightly but the pain was increasing.

"Vhat is happening?" Blitzwing asked but the other 'Cons looked just as confused.

"I think the Prime finally lost it," Oil Slick said though he noticed that Mindwipe was glitching slightly, his wings flickering and jerking.

 _'_ _What are you doing!? Obey me!'_

"N-No!"

 **~Boss?~**

 _'_ _Obey me!'_

 **~Optimus, please fight him!~**

The voices kept arguing and yelling, he literally felt as though he was being pulled in two separate directions. The split kept widening and growing, his optics rapidly flickering from red to blue and back, something even remaining purple. He stumbled around the cave, not able to hear the worries shouts of his teammates and friends but it was too much. There was an audible crackle followed by a sharp snap and his entire frame went tense. Everyone watched as optics dimmed completely and he fell forward with a heavy crash. His processor couldn't take the stress and suffered a massive glitch that knock him offline and into emergency stasis.

"O-Optimus!"

"No… is-is he…?"

"Is, not knowing…" All hope was looking lost. Megatron, who had been watching everything silently walked over to the fallen Prime and regarded him with a quiet intensity. Reaching down he gripped the downed mech by the back of his armor and dragged him to the still working Space Bridge.

"W-W-Wait… th-the co-ordi… nates-s, have-haven't been set…" Bulkhead moaned, one of his optics badly cracked but he could still see.

"Do you think I would send my troops through without properly testing the Space Bridge?" the warlord asked as he stopped before it. "You are sadly mistaken. My mechs still have their uses, but how I chose to use them is **my** decision."

"Y-You ***zrrt*** nee' the- ***bzzt*** ," Bumblebee said brokenly, unable to do much and struggling not to give into his systems urge to shut down.

"I lied." He lifted Optimus up and was prepared to hurl his offlined frame into the portal but he halted when he heard a shout and turned to watch as two items zipped past him. The shurikens sliced through the power cable of the bridge and with a low groan and no power to support it, the portal died out. Megatron could feel one of his optics flickering as he sneered, angrily slamming the downed Prime into the floor even as he whirled around. "Now what?!" he demanded in a tone that would not stand for any excuse.

"Forgive me, my lord. The ninja fooled us into thinking he had fallen into stasis," the light grayish-purple jet explained where he stood over Prowl, one ped firmly keeping his battered helm to the ground and applying enough pressure to show he was not above crushing him like a piece of aluminum.

"Make certain he stays down, or it will be your helm under my ped!" he snarled angrily. With no power the Space Bridge would not work and they did not have time nor he the patience to fix the severed cables. But looking around he found he may not need it after all. "Scrapper!"

"Y-Y-Yeah?"

"Do something useful for once in your pitiful existence and plug this into the console," he snarled as he tossed him Starscream's severed helm. "Now!" The terrified Constructicon didn't waste any time as he opened the top panel and cramped the cursing helm into the wires.

"I swear Megatron, you will-" Any threats the seeker was going to screech at the warlord was lost as his AllSpark fragment lit up and an incredibly powerful surge of electricity raced through him. The pain was unbelievable but he was trapped and forced to endure every agonizing klik of it. With a new power source the entire console lit up and power was once more building but the portal was much larger than before, rumbling so much parts of the cave were starting to crumble around them, including the ceiling.

"Wa-Wa-it! You-u-u ca-can… n't do tha-a-at… t-t-too much po-po-power…" Bulkhead tried to warn them but no one seemed to be listening. He noticed that the machine was being overloaded to dangerous levels and the portal itself was becoming highly unstable. A wind was picking up and debris all around the cave was being sucked into the portal. If he didn't find a way to stop it soon, no one was going survive this.

 **Author's Notes:** Well, I think this is the most action I've written in a while. And yes, you may remember a lot of these lines from the TFA episode "A Bridge Too Close to Home" but I needed help. Work has been kinda crazy and since I'm going in again tomorrow (I miss weekends…) I figured lemme try and finish this and post it up.

Originally this chapter was going to be longer such as the remainder of the fight but like the previous chapter I didn't want to add too much to it. At 28 pages this is a pretty long chapter.

Next chapter will be the conclusion of the whole space bridge and a rescue attempt by Ratchet, Sari, and Psyche. What else? No idea, I'm playing with this little by little. So everyone, I really hope you enjoyed this and I hope you will continue to stay with me to the end. Sorry for the long wait, but little by little I am determined to see this story to its end.

On another note, I am working on and off on several other TF fics and so far one of them has 2 chapters done but I'm wondering if I should post it or wait until I have more chapters completed. And for those of you who are still wondering, yes I am still working on "Slutty Bee". It's going slowly but I'm still working on it. G'night y'all! :D


	17. Chapter 16-2

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** Same as last time so… new chapter, continuing off and the poll results are the same. Enjoy! And don't forget to leave a review!

Prowl: 21

Starscream: 23

Optimus Prime: 5

Other: 5 (Bulkhead: 1; Skywarp: 1; Sentinel: 2)

Rankings are more or less the same, but I'll post the results next update. Enjoy!

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

The portal glowed with an eerie light, a kind that even those not familiar with Space Bridge technology were wary of and began backing away slowly. All, save for Megatron who was gloating over the fact that he was certain that he had finally won. The Autobots, though badly damaged, were worried but not for the reasons one would think.

Bumblebee tried to speak but winced when his vocalizer gave a sharp burst of static, unable to form words he instead switched to a private comm link they all had. **~Bulkhead… why, is it so strong?~** he asked.

 **~It's too much power,~** he answered back even as he struggled to sit up. **~It doesn't have any set coordinates, so whatever goes through there's no way we can bring it back. But it was never suppose to be powered by the AllSpark.~**

 **~But why?~**

 **~Look around you,~** Prowl spoke up, watching as more rocks was being sucked into the portal, little things that was easily unnoticed except for those that were watching. **~The Space Bridge is trying to draw everything in.~**

 **~That's not the worse part. Look.~** Optics turned to the portal and they watched as it actually swelled in size, growing larger and soon more was being pulled towards it. **~If that continues, it's not gonna stop until it takes in everything.~**

 **~You mean… all of us?~**

 **~More like the entire area, like New Detroit.~**

The Autobots tried not to panic but they were badly damaged, most of them still wearing stasis cuffs, and not only were they overpowered and outnumbered, they were all in danger of being thrown into the growing Space Bridge and being scattered across all parts of the galaxy. They had lost.

Prowl once more tried to concentrate, to try and see if he could use the processor-over-matter technique once more but the ped holding his head down would increase just enough for his pain sensors to activate and ruin his concentration. Part of him wondered if the Decepticon ever studied Circuit-Su training to be preventing him from escaping once more but if he kept this up he was going to crush his helm into the ground and there would be no way to stop them or save Bumblebee.

No. No, as much as he did not want to admit it, there were several bots who would lay down their sparks for his safety and have proven it several times before. His optics darted behind his visor he looked over at the yellow seeker called Sunstorm who had not bothered to tend to his damaged servos after his brief battle with Cyclonus. He remembered being told he had an unusual ability to absorb the energy of his opponents and direct it back out in a bright burst of light. A handy ability indeed but even so they were badly damaged, both Primes were offlined and Skyfire was in emergency stasis. And with Bumblebee carrying and unable to transform, that was one chance he did not want to risk for anything. They needed a miracle.

Primus must have been listening as multiple explosions hit the outside of the mines, shaking the walls and causing some rocks to come tumbling down. Everyone was taken by surprise, some of them ducking for cover (i.e. Mindwipe) but the others watched as the ceiling was blown apart and they saw a massive ship hovering in the air.

"Who dares to open fire on us?!" Lugnut demanded angrily.

"H-Hey… isn't that, our ship?" Bulkhead whispered but he couldn't be certain.

On the bridge of the Autobot vessel Teletran-1, Ratchet focused the screen down below and he felt his optics widen. "They got a working Space Bridge… and it looks like it's growing outta control!"

"Ratchet, we got bad news and worse news. Bad news, we have several casualties down there and Bumblebee is among them," Psyche quickly pointed out as she zoomed in to where their teammates and allies were at, looking worse for wear.

"Slag it! What's worse than that?" To answer his question the ship gave a violent lurch, nearly knocking everyone off their peds or outta their seats.

"The Decepticons are trying to knock us out of the sky," the femme said and tried very hard not to think about her tanks rolling.

The warlord was growing increasingly more and more upset, that no matter how far he had succeeded those infernal Autobots were there thwarting his plans and making his own army looks like those pathetic fleshy organics. Well, some more so than others. Turning to the mechs he snarled angrily at them. "What are you fools waiting for?! Destroy that ship and those on board!" he roared at them.

"At once, oh mighty Megatron!" Lugnut said as he immediately transformed and took to the skies, soon followed by Blitzwing and Cyclonus. Mindwipe, staying true to his own self-preservation, chose not to join his comrades in the sky but he also knew if he tried to abandon them, their leader would not hesitate to turn him into a pile of scrap. So he hid instead, waiting for the perfect moment to flee.

Up in the air Omega was trying to stay elevated but it was becoming increasingly difficult as the constant bombardment of missiles, bombs, and laser fire damaging his outer plating. Before he or his passengers knew it, one of his engines was hit hard that it exploded and he was starting to go down. "There's too many of them! I-I'm not ready!" he said with obvious fear in his vocalizer.

"You can do this, old friend! We believe in you!" Ratchet told him but it seemed as though his words weren't having the same effect as they did earlier, everyone watching as the ship continued the rapid descent towards the caves.

"That makes one of us!" Sari shouted worriedly, eyes widening even as she clung to the medic's shoulder plating as tightly as she could.

"If we don't do something, none of us will survive the crash or the impact!" Psyche shouted back even as she struggled with the controls, trying to divert power to the remaining engine.

"Deploy your emergency defense mode. Codename: Omega," the medic quickly ordered.

"I-can't!"

"Don't you give up on me, soldier!" A white fist slammed down on the console and it seemed to do the trick as he and the others were taken below deck. Psyche barely had any warning as her seat disappeared from under her and she fell a short distance before landing on somebot who grunted at the sudden weight.

"Hey! Watch the servos!"

"Then get off my lap!" Ratchet snapped. The lights came on and both bots blinked as they looked at each other then at the small techno-organic who thought it was the perfect moment to take a picture of the two.

"Kodak moment?" she offered weakly.

"If we survive this, remind me to get you later for that," the femme mumbled lowly as she got up from the veteran's lap. "And ask what in the Pitt is a Kodak."

"Sari, Psyche, see if you can divert some of the power from the fragments to power him up while I try and loosen up some of his joints," the medic said even as he reached out for the controls before him.

"Joints? This ship has joints?"

"Wait and see, kiddo." The two females did what they were told and in the chamber the fragments began to glow even brighter. Outside the ship seemed unable to slow down but the tale tell sound of transformation was heard and before everyone's optics the ship's bulky parts began shifting and turning. Soon in a matter of mere astroseconds, hovering in the air before the stunned Decepticons was a massive Autobot with the same color scheme of the ship they thought was on the verge of crashing. Instead they watched as it landed, faceplates visible on a red-tinted screen.

"I am, **Omega Supreme!** "

Down below even Megatron was stunned to see the massive newcomer, and his small army was now wondering if they had enough firepower to take something that big down. "Easier said than done," Oil Slick muttered to himself under his vents. He didn't know how they were going to take that bot down, it could easier step on them if it wanted and they didn't have nearly enough Decepticons to even think of taking it down together—or did they? Smirking he turned to face the prisoners, lifting his arm up he felt the twin canisters begin to fill up. "Time to even the odds in our favor," he smirked as he pointed at the two Autobot seekers.

Sunstorm didn't know what the strange fluids were going to do but he was not going to give the motorcycle a chance to find out. The stasis cuffs made it nearly impossible to move, though it did nothing to damper his unique ability. But he needed to get his attention first. "Is that a new type of energon? How kind of you to share it with your always grateful prisoners," he smirked.

"Not quite, but I do wonder, if you clones are the byproduct of cloning of Decepticon CNA, how would my Reverse Evolution virus work on somebot who already claims to be one of us?"

"I'm simply astonied by your brilliance!" The yellow-schemed seeker waited, watching intently, feeling every circuit in his system sparking in anticipation as soon as he saw the cables in the arm tense he knew he only had a fraction of an astrosecond to react. _:Cover your optics now!:_ he ordered. His brothers and sister immediately offlined their own and Skywarp quickly covered Bumblebee's optics with his servo. The others, wondering what was happening, were quick to follow their example and just in time as a brilliant flash of light filled the area so much, even those not looking in their direction were momentarily blinded but the prisoners could still see.

"What the slag?!" the chemist cursed as he stumbled back, resetting his optics but it was no use. The fortunate thing was that the glare had been slightly decreased by the transparent material covering his helm but not enough that he didn't see the attack coming until he felt something sweep his peds out from under him and the brief klik he was airborne, another strike to his chassis had him flying through the air where he went through a stalagmite, cracking not only the dome over his helm but the impact badly cracked the canisters on his arm hard enough for the virus to begin leaking. "S-Slag it!"

Psyche didn't like the condition that Skyfire was in and she knew she had to go in and do some immediate repairs if he was going to see the next solar cycle. "I'm going down to assist the injured," she said, her processor made up. "Omega, I need to get out!"

"Affirmative."

"Are you insane? We're in the middle of a battle!" Ratchet snapped.

"Hasn't stopped either of us before." The floor opened up beneath her peds and soon she was gone, sliding down a darken tunnel and before she knew it she was outside. The CMO hadn't been kidding when he said they were in the middle of a battle right now but the longer she waited the less time Skyfire had at a chance for survival. Luckily, she wasn't too far off the ground that she didn't fear turning into a pile of busted scrap, but it didn't stop her from transforming and gunning her engine as hard as she could. Her tires spun rapidly and she skidded a bit once she touched the soft terrain but once she was able to gain control she was off, shifting gears along the way. Maybe she should have picked an alt-mode that was built for all terrains but she could worry about it later as she raced for the entrance. Naturally the mine's mineral deposits kept her from comming anybot or accessing her GPS, but she could focus her audio receivers and follow the sounds of fighting. Before she knew it she found herself in the main chamber of the mines where a functioning but highly unstable Space Bridge looked over everybot in the area. Transforming she found herself trying to fight the effects of being drawn towards it. "Last I check, those weren't supposed to do that."

Prowl, who had managed to slip out of his cuffs, was having difficulty dealing with so many Decepticons at once, even if the Constructicons were far clumsier than teaching Bulkhead to move like a Cyber ninja, but he looked up to see that the femme was here. "Psyche! Get out of here!"

Reaching into her subspace the femme withdrew her hammers, bringing them together they began to transformed into a familiar hammer that looked like a smaller version of the Magnus Hammer, it even gave off a similar electrical charge but that didn't stop her from charging into the fray. She didn't bother to slow down as she swung her hammer, catching an unknown Mixmaster in the side and sending him flying, the electrical charge shorting out his motion relays. Jumping up she brought her weapon over her helm then down, nearly flattening Scrapper's helm like a weak aluminum can. Lifting her hammer she gave the shocked ninja a small smirk. "I think I can take care of myself. I can polish my plating, too."

"I never said you couldn't—get down!" He ordered, leaping over her while throwing out his shurikens, causing Oil Slick to miss with a curse before engaging him full on. The femme blinked and would have continued to help her friend when she skidded to a halt, nearly running into a gray frame that was as big as her sire but he had burning red optics instead of blue.

"You know… you look completely different from the data reports," she said even as she held her hammer before her. "Got some frame work done?"

"Your hammer… where did you get it?" Megatron demanded with narrowed optics.

"It was a creation gift. But you strike me more as a fusion cannon type of mech," she said. She knew there was no way she could fight him one-on-one but seeing him lift his cannon she reacted and swung her hammer out, badly damaging the end of it so it sparked but when she tried striking him he reached out and gripped the staff tightly. "Hey! Let go!" she shouted, refusing to let go herself.

The warlord smirked, not seeing the femme as a real threat. "Make me, Autobot."

Blue-green optics narrowed, the electrical charge was building so fast sparks were being emitted from her seams and even her optics, making them positively glow. "I. Am. Not. An AUTOBOT!" she snapped as loudly as she could and let the charge flow from her system directly into the hammer. It was like being in the heart of an electrical storm as heavy bolts of electricity flowed into the leader of the Decepticons, causing his own system to malfunction, overloading his processor and disrupting his sensors, he was thrown back where his backstrut crashed through a thick stalagmite before hitting the ground, struggling to reset his relays so he could tear the femme apart. Psyche, however, was still charged up but telling the others to hold still gave her hammer a low swing, sending out an electrical charge that made their servos tingle but the stasis cuffs let out a series of rapid beeps before clicking open, falling to the ground with circuits smoking. They were free but the femme immediately went to the fallen shuttle, attaching her hammer to her backplates she immediately began working on his repairs. She really wished Ratchet was here but she was surprised when clawed servos reached down to help her clamp off a still leaking cables. Skywarp said nothing even though his wings gave a slight tremble he continued clamping off the other cables and tubes without being told.

"He wan- ***bzzt*** hel'," Bee forced himself to say, carefully kneeling down next to him.

"Good. But you are not fighting and I'm not hearing another word," she ordered to which the minibot slowly nodded in agreement. The other seekers though didn't hesitate to join the fray, taking to the skies they took out their aggression on the flying Decepticons but Slipstream and Thundercracker immediately opened fire on Megatron who had just gotten to his peds before he was blasted back, grunting from the impact.

Once they were free the Autobots who were able to move got up and tried to help as best they could. Jetstorm and Jetfire didn't hesitate to merge into Safeguard once they were free but they immediately went after Mindwipe who found, to his horror and dismay, could not control their processors as they were of two minds and not one. And he clearly was not prepared for battle, especially when blasts of heated air came at him, scorching his plating that it seemed to melt and expose his vulnerable protoform beneath. The Constructicons, who looked very unsteady on their peds, were of a similar mindset to save their own skidplates but not before taking as much oil they could carry. It backfired when a stray laser shot from one of the seekers hit one of the drums, causing it to explode and set off a small chain reaction.

"That's it! No body messes with my motor oil!" Mixmaster yelled angrily and he fired large globs of sticky material around anyone in his sight, regardless of their fraction. Mindwipe who was one mech who was unfortunately caught by it. Thundercracker sneered as he opened fired at the Earth-created mech and could not resist getting in his own opinion.

"Fool! A mere construction-bot is no match for _my_ superior firepower," he taunted.

"Oh, really. Well, you know where you can stick it?" He fired another large volley and grunted in satisfaction as it struck the seeker in the wings and clogged up one of his thrusters.

"Impossible! You cannot defeat me! You are not worthy! You are inferior! And your joke stinks!"

"Ah shuddup already!" Another shot hit the seeker in the chassis, flying into the miserable mess that was Mindwipe. With two fliers struggling to regain some sort of control they failed to realize they were being sucked into the energy of the Space bridge and before anyone could say anything, they were gone.

"No! This was not how it should be!" Cyclonus snapped, lashing angrily at the Autobots he activated his thrusters and flew straight for the pitiful purple seeker who was still trying to repair the fallen shuttle. "Nothing will stop his glorious descent! All will perish before his might, none shall be spared! The Emperor of Destruction shall-"

"Enough already!" Slipstream screamed, flying towards him she flew at him, using her speed she managed to knock him off-course so he missed the small group by a thin margin but the femme also shot out his thruster and unable to control himself, he spiraled out of control and ended up flying into the unstable transwarp energy but there appeared to be a powerful explosion that caused such a powerful influx of energy it knocked everyone onto their afts, the surrounding shockwave forcing the fliers to the ground. Even Omega stumbled but he forced himself to remain standing; the force of the bridge was increasing so much nearly everything was now being drawn in, including the Cybertroniums themselves.

"T-The bridge is getting stronger!" Bulkhead pointed out, clinging to the stalactite to keep from getting sucked in. "We gotta get outta here, like now!"

"Autobots! Move out now!" Sentinel ordered, tires spinning on the ground, fighting the intense pull. Around him the Autobots were doing as ordered, gathering the downed Skyfire and Optimus to be transported. The seekers hated the fact that they were all grounded but they could not risk being sucked into the swirling energy. The ever loyal Decepticons were torn between finishing the Autobots off or saving their own plating from being sent to different parts of the universe. All save for Megatron who refused to leave with empty servos. Activating his own thrusters he flew for the one mech he knew his enemy would never fire upon. He had the satisfaction of seeing the shocked look on the carrier's faceplates as he wrapped his arm around his neck cables, holding him tightly to his chassis.

"I think not," he growled, brandishing one of his trionium swords up it was taking all that he had to fight off being sucked into the swirling vortex behind him. Part of him was disappointed that the Autobots didn't even attempt to open fire upon him but they were clearly more worried about his hostage he was currently holding. "You foolish Autobots think you have won, but I have waited vorns to take my rightful place as Cybertron's true ruler."

"Le- ***bzzt*** go, sla- ***bzzt*** -eap!" Bumblebee forced out of his damage vocalizer, struggling against the arm but froze when he felt the blade press much too close to his midsection than he would have liked. He grew tense and so did everybot else.

"What do you want, Megatron?" Prowl demanded. His holoprojector was still damaged but even so they were all having difficulty fighting off being pulled into the Space Bridge that just continued to grow.

"My mechs and I will take our leave, but the carrier comes with me," he said simply. "Don't worry, you may see him again. When you are all hailing me as your new ruler and he is carrying my sparkling."

Starscream was surprised the console hadn't been sucked into the Space Bridge but he could hear the metal groaning. But he also heard what the tyrannical warlord said and even with the AllSpark fragment (and his helm) still wedged into the machine, he refused to let him win. He was not going to let him use the minibot as he once did, and he was not going to let him deactivate his sparkling. Despite being only a helm he struggled to get free, even tried to get his helmless frame to move but it was no use.

 _'_ _No! I vowed—I would protect them! Both of them!'_ There was another painful groan from the console, there was not a great deal of time before he ended up being pulled into the vortex but he could not let that insane warlord get away with this. The fragment embedded deep in his forehelm glowed.

 **"** **MEGATRON!"** he screamed a lot, the lower half of his faceplates transforming as his mouth plates converted into a sonic blaster. The powerful blast cut through the air and struck the leader of the Decepticon in the backplates with enough power to actually harm him, breaking through the thick plating and damaging sensitive wires and part of his protoform. It was the last thing he saw as the console was ripped free from the ground and he was transported far far _far_ from the blue and green organic planet.

The Autobots were stunned at what they had just seen, but they were quick to move as the war mongrel released their friend but not before he turned and quickly snapped a pair of stasis cuffs on him. They watched as their greatest foe was sucked into the portal and disappeared from all scans but if they didn't hurry, Bumblebee would suffer a similar fate. He was clinging to Megatron's sword that he had managed to bury into the ground as deeply as he could but even that was beginning to come loose. If they didn't try and stop that Space Bridge, the entire state of Michigan was going to transwarped into another galaxy. But just as all hope was lost, help came in the very unexpected form of Omega Supreme as he purposely placed himself in front of the portal, vainly trying to keep his friends from being dragged into it.

"Save yourselves, Autobots. I will absorb the transwarp energy," the titan remarked even though he struggled with it.

Ratchet's optics widen when he realized what his friend was trying to do and he did not want it to happen again. "No! I didn't bring you back to life just to watch you self-destruct!" he yelled out, anger and fear in his vocalizer.

"I'm sorry, Ratchet." Similar with Psyche, a trapdoor opened between the CMO nd the techno-organic, ejecting them from the lower half of his stabilizer. The medic shouted for him even as he fell but his servos instinctively curled round Sari, protecting her even as he hit the ground and tumbled a bit. Dented, but otherwise the two were fine.

"I am programmed to protect… and sacrifice as necessary." To the Autobots' horror, they watched as the massive mech stepped back directly into the Space Bridge itself, his power cells rapidly absorbing as much energy as they could, making it shrink down but in the process Omega was being drawn in. He was clearly trying to fight it, grabbing at the supports but it was futile as he was sucked in. the portal shrank down so it no longer possessed any kind of threat, but the result left behind resulted in a powerful explosion that echoed loudly around the caves, setting off a chain reaction that threaten to bring the entire mining system down on their helms.

Ratchet was frozen where he had landed, still staring at the spot where his friend had sacrificed his own spark for their safety. He wasn't aware of Sari calling out his name nor of Safeguard getting him to his peds. During the confusion the Decepticons had taken off but the Autobots didn't have time to go chasing after them and neither did the seekers. Instead those that could transformed and took off as fast as their engines could go, the seekers helping carry the injuries out as well as Bumblebee. They made it out in time for the caves to collapse behind them. Anything the Decepticons had of value inside was gone and with Megatron somewhere lost in space, they were not considered a threat. Once they deemed to be a safe enough distance away the mechs transformed and once more Psyche made sure Skyfire was stabilized before turned to the old medic. Walking over to him she could see he was in deep turmoil. She wasn't sure what to say but she slowly reached out and slipped her servo into his. He said nothing but his digits curled around hers tightly, taking the comfort he so desperately needed right now.

Bumblebee looked at the remains of the mines, still remembering what Starscream had said, what he ahd shown him, and even how even when he was just a helm had tried to protect him. And now… now he was gone, and his sparkling would never know her creator. He jumped when he felt a servo gently brush over his shoulder guard and rubbed at his optics.

"I-I'm f-fine ***bzzt*** , re-really-y-y" he said quietly, his self-repair trying to repair as much damage as it could. He was not going to break down in front of the mech but he didn't fight it when he was pulled into an all-too familiar embrace. It wasn't the same, but Bumblebee just clung to the ninja as tightly as he could, letting his optics offline, hiding his faceplates into the black and gold chassis.

Prowl said nothing but continued to hold the minibot close. He wasn't sure if anything he could say would be anything the minibot carrier wasn't to hear, and he had seen the earthlings comfort one another in a similar fashion. His own emotions were twisted up inside but now was not the time to act on any of them. _'I will do whatever I can to help you both. I swear this,'_ the ninja vowed, his servo gently stroking the back of Bee's yellow helm.

* * *

Megatron silently vowed to get back at all of those that had wronged him, starting first most with the Autobots and ending firmly with Cybertron. But first that would require him to remove these infernal stasis cuffs that annoying minibot placed on him. "the next time I see him I will use these same cuffs on him and see how he enjoys them," he growled to himself as he floated aimlessly with no set direction and no access to his thrusters or his fusion cannon (were it not still broken).

"Over my sparkless frame!" came a somewhat high-pitched and very annoyed declaration.

The warlord growled and looked at the floating helm just across from him, their scowls mirroring one another. "I thought I had achieved that repeatedly."

"And yet I'm still here. Any other mech woulda made sure I stayed offlined!"

"Something I assure you will not happen again." Silence for a few blessed kliks and then- "And stop _staring_ at me."

"No. _You_ stop staring at _me_!"

"Do you think I actually _want_ to spend the rest of eternity gazing at your unsightly visage?" the larger mech growled.

"Trust me: your visage is no picnic either. And your face is ugly too!" the frameless seeker replied snrkingly.

"Oh, someone just take me offline now..." Megatron groaned, offlining his optics. Surely Primus was punishing him for his past actions.

"What do you think I've been trying to _do_ for the last four million stellar cycles?! AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It's funny, really, when you think about it. Tragic, but _funny_! AHAHAHAHAHA!" It was official, the seeker had finally lost it as his cackled seemed to echo all around them as they continued to float aimlessly in space.

"Oh, shut up." Oh yes, he was certain Primus was out there, laughing his aft off as his predicament.

 **Author's Notes:** Hmmmmm (thinking hard) … this, has to be the shortest chapter I've ever typed up. Now I'm starting to wonder if maybe I shoulda just kept the other chapter to myself and kept typing until I was done. Oh well (shrugs)

I thought it was gonna be more, but rereading the fight scene from the previous chapter and this one, I realize I had way too many characters in it and that in turn affected my writing. Yes I've been following the episodes and using a lot of lines from it into my story, but having so many characters made the fight scene one giant mess that just gave me a headache for the longest time and I think I've been sitting on this for too long. So, here it is my fellow readers. The next chapters will gloss over what happens to Team Prime such as Masterson trying to get revenge on the Autobots, a new Constructicon by the name of Dirt Boss, and of course bee's due date is getting nearer and also, what lead to Shcokwave's disguise being compromised on Cybertron. So hopefully everyone is still reading and still enjoying. Bye for now! (waves)


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.

 **Author's Note:** I'm not dead! Not yet anyway. Sorry for the long wait but here is the latest chapter of "Nightmare". If you're still with me, then go read the chapter I slaved over trying to get it as perfect as I possible could. Please remember to review, too.

Prowl: 22

Starscream: 25

Optimus Prime: 5

Other: 5 (Bulkhead: 1; Skywarp: 1; Sentinel: 2)

Rankings haven't changed much but if I'm wrong please le met know. Enjoy!

"Nightmare"

Written by: Beloved Shadow

Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger

Systems were slowly running through the multiple scans, the letters flashing across the HUD stirred the mech from his deep stasis. He was confused though as it why he was seeing this, but the confusion turned to worry when he realized he could not access anything, he didn't even know who he was.

 _…_ _who… who am I? …_

Panic would have surely settled in had a file suddenly opened up and he saw video files flashing before him.

 _"_ _Congratulations, your sparkling in one fine looking mech."_

 _"_ _He's wonderful… I already see a great future before him."_

 _"_ _I am certain." Both bots smiled down at the tiny form wrapped in an insulation sheet, love and warmth in their optics. "Welcome to Cybertron… Orion Pax."_

 _…_ _Orion… Pax…? Is that—Is that me?_

 _"_ _I'm sorry to tell you this… but-was eliminated in battle-"_

 _"_ _Carrier? W'ere 'ire?"_

 _"_ _Gone… he had to go fight the Decepticons…"_

 _"'_ _ire fight bad bots? 'ire home 'oon?"_

 _"_ _No, sweetspark. He won't be coming home anytime soon… He's with the AllSpark now."_

 _…_ _sire…?_

 _"_ _Carrier! Guess what?!"_

 _"_ _Yes, Orion?"_

 _"_ _I was accepted into the Autobot boot camp! If I study hard enough, I can join the Academy and be part of the Elite Guard—just like sire!"_

 _The bot before him smiled and pulled the speaker into a warm and loving embrace which he happily returned. "As long as you're happy that's all that matters. But I know you'll make all of us very proud, no matter what."_

 _…_ _carrier…_

 _"_ _Listen up, bots! Designation's Kup Minor and from this point on ya'll listen to me! If I tell ya to transform, ya do it no question asked! Any questions?!" the dark blue-green mech barked at the bots standing before him._

 _"_ _No, Kup Minor, sir!"_

 _…_ _Kup… my mentor…_

 _"_ _Kid, I don't think I ever met a mech who had that much confidence in Cybertron's future, but at least ya ain't blowing exhaust my way. What's ya designation?"_

 _"_ _Orion Pax, sir."_

 _"_ _Not anymore. Ya go by Optimus from now on, got it?"_

 _"_ _Sir, yes sir!"_

 _…_ _Optimus… that's me…?_

 _The planet was a wasteland, no sign of life anywhere, rust as far as the optic could see. But for the young cadet he was too focused on trying to survive an encounter with the feared warlord Cybertron has ever known. His alt mode had managed to get him only so far before he had to transform, disabling the Decepticon long enough to knock him off his peds._

 _'…_ _Now with a little bit of luck I can make it out… online…!' A sharp piercing pain in his chassis, looking down long enough to see a slender sword being slowly pulled free, his flickering spark impaled-_

 _"_ _Optimus? You okay?"_

 _"_ _Of course, he's okay, Elita. It's just simulated combat! And, as usual, you got your skidplate handed it you, buddy."_

 _"_ _I wouldn't be so quick to criticize, Cadet Sentinel. Cadet Optimus just scored higher than any Autobot in academy history on the combat simulator," a royal blue and white mech said as the cadet was released from the virtual simulator. He gave the cadet a small but proud smile. "I expect great things from you, young bot."_

 _... Ultra Magnus…_

 _The plant was bare of any technology, rocks structures as far as their optics could make out. Strange flora in vibrant colors broke up the sparseness of the canyon, making it almost picturesque._

 _"_ _Beautiful, isn't it?" a yellow and greenish femme asked._

 _"_ _Yeah... what is it?"_

 _"_ _I have no idea."_

 _"_ _Optimus! Elita-1! Get your fan belts in gear!" a dark blue mech said as he came up behind them._

 _"_ _Sentinel, did you ever stop to consider why organic planets are off-limits to Autobots?"_

 _The mech grinned and draped his upper stabilizers around their neck cables, pulling the three of them into a half-embrace as he chuckled quietly. "You're not getting cold landing peds now, are ya Optimus ole buddy?"_

 _"_ _Aren't you the least bit curious to see a real Decepticon ship? Think of the history!" the femme exclaimed excitedly._

 _"_ _Forget history! Think of the energon, those 'Cons horded the stuff. We find that ship and we are set for the rest of our lifecycles."_

 _"_ _Which we could be spending in the cyber stockage if we're caught."_

 _"Alright, fine, we get if it you're too scared."_

 _The red and blue mech vented to himself, offlining his optics for a klik but he followed after the two bots anyway. "Somebot has to keep you two walking malfunctions from getting in over your helms."_

 _"_ _We never get in over our helms!"_

 _…_ _Elita-1… Sentinel… my friends…_

 _He watched in horror as the femme continued falling, his grappling line too slow to catch her as the darkness swallowed her whole. He was dimly aware of the other mech peering down into the hole, shouting the femme's designation in hopes that she would respond back._

 _"_ _Elita!"_

 _He stood before a mech larger than himself, blue and white plating gleaming but there was an almost cold look in his optics as he demanded an explanation of what happened. He tried to say something, anything, but his vocalizer failed him. He didn't so much as flinch as his best friend threw all the blame onto him._

 _"_ _It was his fault! He's the reason we went to that planet and he's also the on that insisted on us searching for that Decepticon warship! I also saw him leave Elita-1 behind!" Sentinel ranted angrily, glaring at the other cadet with anger in his optics._

 _"_ _Is this true, Cadet Optimus?"_

 _"…_ _it was just as Sentinel said, sir. This mission was my idea and I also chose to leave one of our own behind."_

 _"…_ _I see. Cadet Optimus. You are hereby expelled from Autobot Academy and ineligible for the Elite Guard. I'd hope that someday, you'd achieve greatness, perhaps even prove yourself a worthy Magnus. But… clearly, being a hero isn't in your programming," the Magnus said calmly but there was a hint of disappointment in his vocalizer._

 _What… what have I done?_

 _"_ _Many millions of years ago, war raged between the forces of the heroic Autobots and the brutal Decepticons for control of the planet Cybertron. The Autobots battled valiantly in the name of honor—their courageous exploits bringing hope and glory to a beleaguered war-torn planet, and inspiring countless generations of robots yet to come on-line."_

 _"Do you ever get the feeling that you were programmed for something more than just repairing space bridges?"_

 _"I got a diagnostics program that can delete that feeling like a bad line of code," the white and red medic grumbled._

 _But… aren't we… meant for more?_

 _"So, who was that bug-bot lady?"_

 _"Someone I never should have left behind."_

 _…_ _my fault…_

 _"_ _I would have been perfectly happy if I never had to come back here and fix your mistake!"_

 _"_ _Watch yourself, Sentinel. And you're one to talk about fixing the mistakes of others. The only reason I sent you the message was because you've been here before, you already have alt-modes for here and the humans here are aware of our existence. I honestly expected you to ignore the message and I would have perfectly happy if you hadn't come back either."_

 _"_ _You think you're such a hot shot. It was your fault that the AllSpark was shattered! And then you had to start spreading rumors that the Decepticons were still around!"_

 _"_ _They are! You've seen proof of that and so had Ultra Magnus!"_

 _"_ _Watch yourself before I have you court-martialed for yelling at a Prime, soldier!"_

 _"_ _We're of equal rank, you outdated glitched up fragger! What's more, it's your fault Bumblebee is missing in the first place! Starscream was in stasis cuffs when you left and apparently now he's back here on Earth. If you had done your job as a Prime instead of showboating like the fragger you are, I wouldn't have had a reason to call you back!"_

 _Why… why does he hate me? Aren't we friends?_

 _"_ _I'm worried about him too. He suffered at the servos of Starscream, but us pushing him for answers ain't gonna help. He's got to tell us, and that's if he wants to."_

 _"_ _But he refuses to talk to anyone—again! I'm the leader of this team but what kind of leader am I if I can't help one of my own teammates? He was never suppose to be there alone, he was suppose to wait for backup. We should have looked for him harder, I should have looked harder! I should have known that Bee was in Wasp's armor, he was trying tell us but I didn't bother to listen."_

 _"_ _You have to stop blaming yourself, nothing is gonna change what happened and living in the past ain't gonna help!"_

 _…_ _am I a good leader?_

 _"_ _Hate to say it, but Sentinel's got a point. I'd feel a lot safer with Wasp behind bars."_

 _"_ _That's not your call to make, Bumblebee."_

 _"_ _And it's not your call to make either, Optimus. I'm in command."_

 _"_ _On Cybertron. This planet is my jurisdiction."_

 _"_ _This is a Cybertronian fugitive, and I'll enforce my authority as the… the, uh… Primer Prime!"_

 _"_ _Did you just make that up?!"_

 _"_ _No!"_

 _"_ _There's no such thing as a Primer Prime!"_

 _"_ _It's a real term. Look it up."_

 _…_ _Prime…_

 _"Let him go, Blackarachnia."_

 _"Why should I?"_

 _"Because… I'm the one who left you behind. Sentinel's not the one to blame for what you look like."_

 _"What I look like is only half the story. What I am is a lot more complicated."_

 _…_ _I never should have left…_

 _"_ _I, I'm really sparked. And the sire—it's Starscream…" The yellow minibot looked so lost and afraid, as though waiting to be shunned and locked away but he couldn't do that to him. A blue servo reached out, to offer him comfort and support as bright blue optics looked up at him. "B-Boss bot?"_

 _"_ _Bumblebee, you are not only a member of my team but you are also my friend. I'm sorry you had to go through something like that, but I'm sorry I failed you as your commanding officer. Can you forgive me?"_

 _"_ _Optimus…" Small servos came up and wrapped around him in a tight embrace, one he gave back, afraid if he let go he would lose him like he had lost others before._

 _…_ _I should have searched harder…_

 _"_ _Lay a single digit on my teammate and I'll rip out your struts through your port. This is Earth, not Cybertron, and_ _ **I**_ _am the acting Prime here, not you._ _ **I**_ _make the rules,_ _ **I**_ _give the orders, and_ _ **I**_ _decide whether a member of_ _ **my**_ _team deserves punishment or not. The future of my team is_ _ **mine**_ _; meaning_ _ **I**_ _will alert Ultra Magnus to the situation when_ _ **I**_ _am ready, not you. And you had better get it through your processor that you will stay away from Bumblebee and his sparkling, or else."_

 _"_ _Or… or else what?"_

 _"_ _Or else… you had better pray to Primus that Skyfire offlines you before I get my servos on you, or you will wish you had never been sparked."_

 _…_ _jealously… disappointment… anger… rage…_

 _"_ _B-Boss bot… please… want you, now… Please…!"_

 _"_ _You have no idea how long I wished to hear you say that to me."_

 _…_ _surprise… desire… lust… possessive… greed…_

 _"_ _N-No… Opti-mus, please… s-stop…"_

 _"_ _You should be carrying my sparkling, not some defective seeker! … You. Belong. To. Me."_

 _"_ _O-Op-ti-mus- *wheeze* -p-please!"_

 _"_ _Don't call me that! Call me, Nemesis."_

 _…_ _Nemesis? But, wha-?_

 _"_ _Optimus? Optimus, you still with me? … Prime?"_

 _"_ _I fragged the minibot, because he begged me for it. I never thought of him that way, but knowing what the seeker did to him, knowing he needed help, my help! I… I never, meant to hurt him…"_

 _I hurt, Bumblebee? N-No!_

 _"_ _I am a Prime. I am the leader of this team, I should have had that scout reprimanded for having relations with the enemy, then he ended up being sparked. I should be the one that sparked him! It is my right as a Prime!"_

 _That's… not true-_

 _"_ _A Prime, is more than a leader, Optimus. A Prime must prove he has the skills to not only lead his team into battle and return safely, but to keep the team together. Those who are granted the title of Prime earn it and proudly follow the duties given to them, they never think of their teammates as merely drones to serve them."_

 _Psyche?_

 _"_ _You, you think Sentinel is so great? You don't know him like I do. Everyone believes his lies, his stories, he gets all the glory, he even has those two freaks under his command."_

 _No. No, I didn't say that! That's not me, I won't hurt my friends!_

 _"_ _What you have failed to realize, Optimus Prime, is that you have lost. There is no one else to save you or stop me. No one."_

 _Megatron!_

 _"_ _These-se are your-r fri-ends, Op-ti-mus!" A blue servo reached out, digging into an exposed gap and ruthlessly pulled out a servofull of wires and cables, aggravating the injury even more. "Lis-ten to me-me-me-me!"_

 _Skyfire, no!_

 _"_ _He'll only listen to me, neutral upstart! Get rid of that mech, my puppet!"_

 _The Prime stiffened but once more dug his servo back into the injury, grabbing at more wires and cables, pulling hard enough that the white shuttle cried out in pain, reaching down to grab at his servo in an effort to keep him from pulling anything else out. Unfortunately, it left him open to be struck in his abdominal plating, further aggravating his internal injuries. Distracted him, the Prime knocked the massive mech off him, sending him rolling onto his front but getting to his peds he stomped down on the deep slash Cyclonus delivered earlier, making the large seeker cry out in so much pain his vocalizer was beginning to break up. His blue ped dug into the nearly exposed spinal strut as blue servos reached down, grabbed at the badly damaged wings, and began pulling. An audio splitting shriek filled his audio as wires began to snap and spark, the hot feel of energon and oil being spilled as it coated the floor-_

 _NO! That's not me, that's not me!_

 _~Optimus?~_

 _I-I don't know who I am anymore!_

 _~Can you hear me?~_

 _I-I hurt him—I hurt everyone I ever cared about!_

 _~Listen to me, please!~_

 _Elita… Sentinel… Ultra Magnus… Bumblebee… Skyfire… carrier… sire…_

 _~Optimus Prime?~_

 _I… I'm not fit to be called a Prime…_

 _~… are you really going to give up after everything you've been through? Are you going to let Megatron win? Are you going to turn your back on everything you believed in, in what you stood up for?~_

 _W… who…_

 _~We_ all _make mistakes, but it takes a_ real _bot to learn from them. Now, are you going to let your mistakes rule you, or are you going to get right back on your peds and learn from them?~_

 _…_ _I don't know if I can…_

 _~Never know until you try.~_

 _…_ _I… I, refuse to give up. And… and I will never let my team down… I will never let, myself down._

 _~Good mech. Just answer me this… who are you?~_

 _…_ _who am I…_

 _…_ _optimistic …_

 _…_ _a prime…_

 _I… am… Optimus Prime._

 _~… Optimus?~_

"Can you hear me, Optimus?"

Optics slowly onlined, pixels hazy and filled with a thick layer of static but he waited and watched as it began to clear. Slowly the optics shuddered as they took in his surroundings and the worry faceplates looking down at him. At first he thought it was his carrier but, his carrier joined the Well of the AllSpark a long time ago. He wanted to call out Elita's designation but, she was gone as well. A servo reached out and rested along the side of his helm, blue-green optics looking down at him in concern.

"Optimus?"

"... p… psy… che…"

The femme smiled and gave a slow nod. "Welcome back. How do you feel?" she asked softly as she slowly sat back.

"Con-fused… what, happened?"

"That's a long story, but you should get some rest. I promise, when you wake up from recharge everything will make sense."

But, he had so many questions and she was the only one here, and yet part of him was also afraid of that dark voice returning, that he would end up hurting those he cared about and never realize it. The hand resting along the side of his helm gently caressed his forehelm, reminding him of kinder times when he was a young mechling and his carrier would do the same, lulling him into a gentle recharge. Still he tried fighting it and clutched at the servo holding his tightly, afraid of returning to the dark.

"It's okay, Optimus, the darkness won't hurt you anymore," the neutral femme said softly, stroking his forecrest with her thumb. Humming softly under her vents she watched as he slowly drifted into recharge.

* * *

Sentinel would not say he was worried, but his ped kept nervously tapping on the floor. Since the destruction of the mines, everyone looked to him to give out orders since Optimus was currently out of it. Any other time he would have let it have gone to his helm, that this was the way it was always suppose to be, and yet he froze, absolutely terrified. He was horrible at high-pressure situations and yet here he was, leading a crew much larger than he had, all the while trapped on a purely organic planet.

 _'_ _Still don't know how I did it, but we managed to walk away from that one.'_ He paused and winced when he thought back to some of the more serious injuries. _'Most of us.'_

Seeing how Skyfire had the most serious of all the injuries, he had the teleporting seeker take the shuttle and the old medic to the warehouse. The tiny techno-organic, Sari, went with them to help. Since Optimus was still suffering from a massive crash and Bumblebee was in no means able to transform safely, the group had no choice but to find a way back to the city on their own. Mega-cycles later had Skyfire in a deep medical stasis and would remain that way until his self-repair could attend to his wings. The minibot also had his vocalizer repaired but there was still no word on the other Prime. Just as the navy-blue Prime was about to get up and start pacing a door opened then closed, making him freeze. The neutral femme stepped out of the hall, taking a moment to rub at her optics.

"How is he?" he asked as he stepped up to her, trying not to imagine the worse situation his processor could conceive.

"He's got a long road of recovery ahead of him, but he'll be fine," she sighed softly and slowly blinked up at the Prime. "How are you doing?"

"W-What are you talking about? I was one of the lucky ones!"

"… Sentinel, you don't always have to be the bigger bot. It's okay to ask for help, and its normal to feel like you are out of your element."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Oh Primus, give me strength… look, I may not be an Autobot but I am here and I am willing to listen. But you have to be the one to ask for help. Okay?" The Prime could only nod and watched as she silently left him. Could it really be that easy to ask for help?

Psyche felt vorns older and briefly wondered if this was what her sire felt before ruthlessly pushing that thought process back. No, she was not going down that path ever. Turning down the hall she entered the medbay and could see that the large frame of her friend deep in stasis. She had been afraid he wouldn't have made it but she knew he would pull through. Coming up to his side she reached out to cover one of his servos, smiling at the feel of the warm plating beneath her digits.

"Get better Skyfire, the jettwins are anxious to have you back much more than me," she smiled. There was no response, not so much as a twitch of his digits, but she knew he had heard her. Releasing his servo she moved to the adjoining door and knocked on it but shuddered her optics when it opened after the first tap.

"Ratchet?" No answer and the room was dark so she went in deeper. "Ratchet? You in here?" Still no answer but there was another energy signature within the room. Adjusting her optics she looked around and saw the medic sitting at his work table. She knew he wasn't working on anything as he would have told her to leave, and he never worked in the dark. She walked up to him and made to reach out and touch his shoulder but he was staring intently at a datapad in his servos. It was a detailed schematic of Omega Supreme and what looked like a daily log the medic had recorded of their time together. "… Ratchet, I'm sorry. He gave his spark so we all could live. So _you_ could live."

"It wasn't suppose to be this way… I-I brought him out of stasis to help us, knowing that he didn't want to be part of this war… I should have just let him sleep!" he said angrily, nearly breaking the pad in his servos.

"But he woke up because deep in his spark he knew that you wouldn't have brought him from stasis if you didn't need his help. Ratchet," this time Psyche reached out to rest on servo on his shoulder, and the other to cover his servo, feeling it tremble beneath her touch, "I don't agree a lot with the Autobot High Council did to try to end the war, I still don't, but they were trying to protect Cybertron and her bots from complete annihilation. I know the Omega Sentinels were purposely built to have simple processors, but that just meant they had to be careful in choosing their mentor to bond with, somebot to know when to give commands but to always remember that their battle ship was still a bot with a spark, just like them."

"… but I wasn't suppose to his mentor. I wasn't built for war, I was onlined as a simple field medic-"

"A medic who has gone beyond the programming of any other medic our galaxy has ever known. Ratchet, I know you've seen a lot of slag that would have ruined a lesser bot, I know you still have nightmares about what you've seen, and I know that part of you wants to find the deepest hole you can and hide yourself from everything that's going on."

"Tch. You don't know that," he grumbled, looking away but gentle servos cupped his faceplates and turned him to look at the femme as she leaned over to look him directly in the optics.

"I know you, Ratchet. You work hard and you enjoy helping those in need not only because its your prime directive but you truly enjoy it and would never change it. You hate the war because there are always too many causalities to even calculate, and most of them can never be saved. You give more than you should but you refuse to stop even if it means giving up your own plating. You tend to focus on regrets when you don't have anything to do so you work yourself into exhaustion. But when you do that you become short-tempered and yell at everybot for the smallest reason. You also blame yourself for the loss of those closest to you even though you did the best you could."

"But, I-I could've done more."

"Arcee gave you the access codes to Omega for a reason and don't you dare say it was a failsafe program. She trusted you to be the friend he needed, not a commanding officer. Omega was built and programed to protect and sacrifice, he was designed to obey every command given to him, but he was still a new spark and I'm certain he was terrified of what he was going into, so what he really needed was a friend." Psyche paused and smiled gently, brushing her digits over his cheek ridges and leaned in closer. "Don't lose yourself in the past, Ratch. Like you I lost the bots closest to my spark… I don't want to lose you, either."

"Psy-"

"Please… just, just for now… call me by my designation."

Slowly, his servos came up and covered the ones that still held his faceplates, and whispered ever so softly, "… Bluestar Lotus…"

The feme felt her optics widen and leaned forward, resting her forehelm against his. She tried to suppress the cries but this time it was her turn to be comforted as a servo reached up and gently cupped the back of her helm, pulling her close.

* * *

Prowl looked down at the mech curled up on his lap. The minibot's helm was resting against his chassis, his servos wrapped around his protruding stomach plating protectively. The ninja's own servos held Bumblebee close, digits gently tracing seams in what he hoped was a soothing gesture. They were in the scout's old berthroom, having fallen into a deep recharge once his vocalizer and neck cables had been repaired. But, he was also worried about not only Bee's future, but that of the sparkling.

Starscream was gone, and, from what he had read about sparklings in Ratchet's datapads, could only accept spark energy from the creators. As of right now, Bumblebee's own spark was the only one providing energy but he couldn't do it for very long or it would weaken his own. The thought process did not settle well for the ninja and his servos pulled the scout closer, as though afraid he would lose him if he didn't hold on tight enough.

"I'm sorry… I wish, I could help," he said quietly.

"Autobot Prowl?"

Said Autobot looked up and saw one of the seekers standing in the doorway. He couldn't remember if he had locked the door or not but he nodded and watched as the seeker entered, closing the door behind him. It took him a few kliks to remember this one's designation as Skywarp. One of the slightly saner clones except his cowardly streak was as broad as Sentinel's chin. The seeker quietly stood at the side of the berth, looking down at the sleeping carrier.

"… is, is he…?" he asked quietly, wincing as though he would wake up the scout if he spoke too loudly.

"Recharging. How are the rest of you fairing?"

The seeker looked up at him sharply, optics wide but his wings drooped low and his optics dimmed. "We—are conflicted," he admitted, turning so he was sitting on the edge of the berth. "Starscream created us… but, we were still connected, by the same spark…" His servo came up and rested on his chassis. "His last thought process, was of Bumblebee and the sparkling."

"You mean… Starscream, cared about him?" He didn't think the Decepticon knew how to care about anyone but himself and yet the signs were all there. Skywarp nodded quietly. "So, siding with Megatron…"

"Was his way of protecting them. We told him to tell you Autobots, but he couldn't." Not only that Thundercracker was also gone and he couldn't feel him at all. Looking at the minibot he realized how peaceful he looked, he didn't stop to think as he reached out and gently brushed his digits over the side of his helm. He froze when the yellow bot twitched, leaning into the gentle touch and murmured a designation under his vents.

"Starscream…"

The ninja felt as though his spark was breaking but tried very hard not to let it show on his faceplates. Slowly, his servos slid over the brightly colored plating and looked up at the timid seeker. "He needs you more than he needs me right now." Decepticon red optics stared up at him and derma plating moved soundlessly, no doubt try to think of an excuse but Prowl was already moving. Having gently lifted Bumblebee up he got up from the berth and watched as the seeker took his spot. Clawed servos made to wrap around the carrier but froze when the scout shifted, stirring slightly. A small black and yellow servo came up, unintentionally groping the chassis but once the digits traced the curve of the faux glass the minibot vented softly and curled closer to the mech. He was back in a deep recharge.

Skywarp froze, unsure what to do but when he looked up to ask the Autobot he was already gone. His wings twitched slightly, uncertain about this but the smaller frame felt very warm and pleasant. Clawed servos twitched as they lowered, but he reached out and pulled the insulation cover up, draping it over the carrier. He watched for a moment before slowly reaching out and held the minibot in a similar manner he had seen the ninja doing earlier. He didn't know what he was doing, but something was telling him that Bumblebee would need them more than ever before.

"I'll protect you. I'll protect the both of you," he vowed quietly as he tightened his hold around the carrier, feeling his spark pulsing in his chassis.

* * *

With Megatron gone there was no sign of the other Decepticons. It was as though the battle between them had stopped—on Earth anyway. The same could not be said for the Elite Guard squadrons who had been stationed to protect the remaining Space Bridges. Things were chaotic but with forces spread so very thin they were unable to call for back-up.

On Earth, several days had passed but Sentinel Prime frowned as his transmission to Ultra Magnus still wasn't able to go through. This had never happened before but he tried to send another message through, this time to the High Council but was meet with the same error message. "What is going on?" he asked himself.

Ratchet was entering the main room when he overheard the Prime at the communication center. "What's wrong?" he asked him.

"I can't get a message to Cybertron," he said with a deep frown. "Nothing is going in or out, it's like all lines have been shut down."

"Why would all communication to and from Cybertron be cut off like that?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it." If he remembered his training, the main reason it could be was because the High Council didn't want the Decepticons to track any of their communication links, or there was a sever electrical storm in the area disrupting everything. As much as he hated storms he was leaning more towards the latter. Venting sharply, he ended the message and leaned against the console. "… What do I do?" he asked himself quietly.

The CMO frowned, wondering what Optimus would do in this situation but he was still not cleared for duty and their team was down several mechs as Bumblebee and the Dinobots were once more taken to Dinobot Island. He would be lying if he said wouldn't miss them, but with the minibot carrier gone the seekers went with him to ensure his safety. Part of him didn't want to give the Prime any advice, knowing the slagger wouldn't accept it, but after the incident with the Space Bridge they were all forced to process things in a different perspective. "Sentinel-" His words were cut off when the proximity alarms went off and they looked up at the screens.

 **"** **Alert! Decepticon sighting detected. Alert! Decepticon sighting detected."**

The navy blue prime managed to hone in on the signal and the two were able to see that it was a gray and reddish seeker hovering in the air, opening fire on the buildings and causing the terrified humans to flee for their safety. They would know those wings anywhere, but it was just not possible!

"What are your orders, Prime?" the medic asked,

Sentinel looked startled; before he would have immediately taken command and ordered the Elite guard to take the Decepticon down, but he had seen those wings go down just solar cycles ago. "Stay here and keep an optic out, just in case this is a trap," he said as he headed for the door.

"You're not going to wait for back up? What if it _is_ a trap?"

"Then you can be the one who told me so." Transforming, the truck with the snow plow headed out. Sure, he could have alerted the jettwins or the other Autobots, but what if this was some kind of distraction and the other Decepticons were fighting in others parts of the city? What if some of this planet's organics were in danger and their alarms weren't able to pick it up? It was strange how different he was acting, but he pushed his fear of the unknown aside and booked it to the sight of the disturbance.

The flying frame of the Decepticon continued blasting buildings left and right, causing them to crumble and making the people flee for their lives. No one could hear the insane laughter of a young man who saw their fear as a thrill, eyes glued to the screen.

"Yes! I'm gonna have the new high score of all time!" the lanky young man cackled, messing with the controls as he opened fire on parked cars. "T0t47 0wN4ge!" He paused in gloating at he noticed a blue truck speeding towards his general direction, looking a bit out of place with the broad plow out front but he grinned and locked onto it. "Time for major points!"

Sentinel's systems told him he had been locked on and quickly went through the transformation sequence, holding his arm before him he activated his Skyboom Shield as large as he could. The missiles exploded on impact, but he kept himself braced so not to get knocked down by the explosion. Waving the smoke from the explosion away he glared up at the bot but shuddered his optics. "Wait, you're not Starscream!"

"What the frag is a "starscream"? Hey wait a sec… you're onna those annoying goody goody Autobots!" Masterson growled out. "I had enough of you walking tin cans screwing up my plans!"

"What is this organic going on about?" Sentinel hissed only to run for cover when he continued opening fire at him, looking around to make sure the rest of the organics had run off as well. Something about this seemed familiar but the Prime could not place his digit on it. _::Ratchet! Some organic has control over Starscream's frame!::_ he told the CMO, risking a look when he didn't hear any laser fire and peeked out only to duck down once more when it exploded around him _. ::And apparently, he's got a grudge against Autobots!::_

 _::Not that slagger again!::_ the veteran groaned, resisting the urge to slap his servo onto his faceplates. _::Look, none of us like him but you need to stop him before he ends up leveling the entire cityscape!::_

 _::And how do you expect me to do that?! Last I checked, Autobots don't fly!::_ Optics shuddered as realization suddenly hit him like that large green glitch's wrecking ball. "That's it!"

 _::Wha-::_

 _::Gotta go!::_ Abruptly cutting the comm link with the medic Sentinel opened a line to two mechs he hoped were close enough to assist him. _::Jetstorm! Jetfire! Come in, this is Sentinel Prime!::_ There was a brief surge of static but he didn't have time to dwell on it as he lifted his shield up just in time to keep from getting shot at.

"You lousy Autoboobs are gonna it now! This time I win!" the young man cackled as he kept on the offensive front, not caring about the amount of property damage he was doing or the way the people screamed in fear as they fled the area. "Soon as I take care of you, I'll get my revenge on Isaac Sumdac! And there's nothing you glitches can do to stop me!"

"T-Think again!" Lowering his shield, the Prime lifted his lance and threw it at the mech as hard as he could. He cursed when he moved out of the way but it was merely a distraction as he took the opportunity to transform and rammed into him as hard as he could. He had hoped that he would have been able to knock the slagger down and maybe snap the stasis cuffs on him, but the roar of thrusters ignited and he was being pushed back. Rubber burned as he pushed his engine as hard as he could, struggling to knock the seeker down but it was no use. _::Somebot, come in! This is Sentinel Prime, requesting back-up!::_

 _::We is going, Sentinel, sir!::_ He never thought he would be so grateful to hear the jettwins comming him.

Streaking through the air two identical jets raced to the disturbance, easily maneuvering between the tall buildings, they zeroed in on the dark magenta seeker. With no warning, the two jets transformed and managed to land a powerful kick to his chassis, hard enough to make him lose his grip on the dark blue and orange truck only to be effectively run over as well, leaving a nice set of tire treads over the already damaged frame.

"I think I'm gonna hurl," Masterson muttered to himself, willing his stomach not to betray him as he struggled with the controls to get the bot back up on its feet. "So, you n00b called for back-up? It doesn't matter, I can still beat you all down! This will be the ultimate high score!"

"High score?" The two remembered hearing that before, wasn't that something from those "video games" that yellow minibot taught them? But this was too dangerous to be a game, many of the organics could get hurt! "We is beating you, not screaming one!"

"Yes! We is Elite Guard and we is protecting organics being here!"

"Are you two crashing or something? Doesn't matter, I got the top advantage here!" Henry said as he activated the thrusters, taking to the air and once more pointing his guns at them. "Any last words, n00bs?"

"Yeah… y-you think you're so great, then prove it!" Sentinel snapped, unsure where these words were coming from but he found himself unable to stop. "Transform!"

"Say what?"

"Like this!" Jetfire and Jetstorm both transformed and took to the air, showing off their aerial skills. "We is flying circles around you!"

"We is also beating you much!" the other remarked a bit smugly. "You is being noob!"

"No one talks to me that way! I'll show you; I'll show you all!" the pissed off geek snapped angrily, activating the controls to begin the transformation as he lifted higher into the air, so confident in his superior skills. Plating began folding back, gears shifting, but when it tried closing over the headmaster unit it was slowly becoming crushed, the metal bending under the pressure as the command to transform tried forcing itself into the alt mode. Masterson watched in confusion rapidly followed by fear as the unit was slowly being crushed around him. "So… I'm guessing the bot's body I jacked, has a smaller head?"

On the ground below, Sentinel watched as the helm was forced off the frame, the tiny organic screaming as it fell to the ground but he reached out and caught the sparking machinery before it could crash. With nothing to control it, the seeker's frame went flying out of control only to sink into the river. He frowned and was about to order the twins to go retrieve it but it was no use. He did look down when a panel opened and a skinny organic popped out. He still didn't like organics, but he especially didn't like this one as he picked him up by the back of its "skin".

"Put me down, you-you walking scrap heap!"

"I really dislike organics, but you are the worse example I have ever seen," he said with narrowed optics. Hearing the sirens, he looked down and watched as black and white vehicles arrived, as well as a yellow compact. He tried to suppress a shudder as he watched the organics climb out but he recognized one of the organics as being the one in charge of this planet's defensive division. Looking at the squirming thing he still held, he carefully knelt down and handed him the criminal. "I believe this is yours?"

"As much as I don't want him, I'll take him off your hands," Fanzone said as he immediately placed Masterson in the handcuffs. "You have the right to remain silent, Masterson, and if I were you, you better keep that trap of yours shut!"

The dark blue Prime couldn't help but smile, especially when the few organics that had run and hid from the danger began cheering, for him and the jettwins. It wasn't the same as back home, but they really were appreciative of their help and he found himself thinking that perhaps, this organic-filled planet wasn't all that bad.

 _'_ _I think I'm starting to see what you see here, Optimus,'_ he thought to himself.

* * *

Skywarp was terrified of all a lot just about everything, even the deep recess of space but the island was quieter than the city, and there wasn't a single Decepticon around. However, an insanely loud roar was heard and he couldn't help but yelp in fear, clutching the mech he was sitting with tightly.

Bumblebee shuddered his optics, wondering what had set the seeker off but vented softly when he recognized the roar and clash of metal striking metal. "It's okay, Skywarp; the Dinobots are playing," he told the terrified mech.

"P-Playing?" It didn't sound like it but the much larger mech wasn't coming after him, so he relaxed. He shuddered his optics and immediately released the carrier. "I'm sorry!"

"It's alright, I'm okay," Bee assured him, looking out at the scene before them but once more he found himself looking up at the sky and wondering if Starscream was alright. Was the AllSpark fragment still keeping him onlined? Had he transwarped to another world? Was he trying to come back to him and their sparkling? … did he want to come back?

"Bumblebee?"

The minibot was taken from his thoughts and looked over at the seeker who was looking at him with concern. "Oh! Y-Yeah, I'm okay." He looked away, reaching up to gently rub at his swollen midsection. "I'm okay…"

The purple seeker could tell he wasn't but he didn't want to say something that would upset him. He reached out, wanting to comfort the smaller mech but he kept pulling back, unsure of his actions. What if he didn't want to be comforted? What if he didn't want him? What if he did? Venting deeply, Skywarp moved closer and slowly, wrapped his servos around him in a loose embrace. He felt the smaller frame tense but before he could pull back the minibot relaxed against him, reaching up to cover one of his servos.

"Thanks, 'Warp," Bee said softly.

Prowl watched the two quietly but there was a painful ache in his spark. He wished he was in the seeker's place, to offer the minibot comfort after what happened, but he knew that he still cared about Starscream and he still hurting after losing him. He was still his friend, but he wished that they could be more. So much more. Venting quietly to himself he watched as the small birds that had been perched on him took off with a quiet flutter of feathered wings.

"You're very light on your peds, Psyche," he remarked quietly.

"Not all bots announce themselves by stomping around wherever they go," the femme remarked as she leaned against the base of the tree the Cyber Ninja was perched in. "I can see why you and the Dinobots enjoy it here, it so different from Cybertron and New Detroit."

"It is one of the most magnificent things I have ever seen," he remarked but his attention was on the yellow mech that was laughing at what the purple mech had said with a small smile.

"… Bumblebee cares about you, you know." Venting softly, Psyche leaned her helm back, letting her optics offline. "You need to spend more time with him, talk to him, be there for him."

"… He doesn't need me."

"Really? Is that what you think? Or are you afraid?" Hearing a very quiet rustle she onlined her optics and saw him standing before her. "Bee hasn't said anything, but if you bothered to talk with him you would see that he misses being with you out of the entire team. Even the seekers have been picking up on it but they won't say anything, and I know you wish there was more between the two of you."

"You do not know me."

"I read your data file: you're one of the last students of Master Yoketron, given the title of Cyber Ninja even though you never finished your training, and you had spent several vorns isolated in an asteroid field before Optimus' team unexpectedly ran into you. From what everybody told me you prefer the natural beauty of Earth and you strongly believe that anything that can feel and think should be given a chance at living, that to let a spark die out is inexcusable. But I noticed some things you've managed to hide from your team."

"I have been hiding nothing," he said defensively.

"You see faults in everybot, having been alone for so long you can't help but compare everyone to your old mentor, but since arriving here you're been making an effort to try and understand them more, even going so far as to teach them what you yourself were taught. You won't say it, but you view your team as a family even though you refuse to let anyone get close to you. You also care a great deal about Bumblebee but you're afraid to tell him because he might still be yearning for Starscream."

The Ninja was stunned but everything the femme had said was true. More than once he wanted to confront the minibot about his feelings, to ensure no bot ever harmed him again, to be there alongside him, watching the sparkling grow. "I'm not sure where these feelings came from… for the longest time I saw him as an immature sparkling, too impulsive for his own good, but when he went missing, I never wanted to stop looking. I sometimes wonder, if I had continued looking, could I have prevented all of this from happening?" he asked quietly, visor dimming slightly.

"I should've, could've, would've done something about that day, if only I had known it ended this way."

Shuddering his optics the mech looked at the femme questionably. "Excuse me?"

"It's a poem that one of this planet's natives wrote, proving words can be more powerful than even the AllSpark itself," she explained but nodded to him as she continued speaking. "Nothing can change the past except to learn from it and continue on. I can't tell you what to do, but I still suggest you talk with him and go from there."

"... You make it sound so easy." Psyche let out a snort even as she crossed her servos over her chassis, giving him a look.

"It _is_ easy. You're the one making it difficult." But before the ninja could say anything, they were both hailed on their comm link. Normally it wouldn't have mattered but this one was listed as a high-priority emergency. Looking at each other they opened their sides of the link just in time to hear Ratchet yelling at somebot to pick up.

 _::-bot answer their fragging comm link?!::_

 _::Ratchet, this is Prowl. What's happening?:_

 _::About time! Omega Supreme just appeared above New Detroit and apparently, he's opening fire on Sentinel and the jettwins! I already sent Bulkhead and Skyfire out to assist but there's no way they can stop him on their own.::_

 _::What? But Omega would never attack another Autobot-::_ Psyche shuddered her optics at the realization and uttered a black curse. _::He's not alone, is he.::_

 _::Megatron somehow took over and is controlling him. I'm still at the warehouse but Optimus is still down. If we don't stop him, they'll be nothing left to protect!::_

 _::Just stay there, I'm on my way.::_ Cutting the comm link the femme immediately ran to where Bumblebee and Skywarp were sitting and immediately grabbed the seeker by the shoulder. "Skywarp! I need you to teleport me to New Detroit now!"

"W-What? Now? Why me?" he asked fearfully even as the femme dragged him onto his peds.

"Because you're the only one with a warp drive!" Looking at the ninja she nodded. "Stay here with Bumblebee. I'll let you know if we need any help."

The ninja merely nodded as he helped the confused carrier to his peds. "Be careful." There was a slight charge in the air and soon both the femme and the seeker were gone. Prowl knew Bumblebee had questions but right now his safety came first. "Come on, I'll explain everything once we're safely inside," he said even as he wrapped a servo around his backplates and led him to the caves. The minibot said nothing but leaned into the other bot, praying to Primus to keep his friends safe.

* * *

A Megatron-possessed-Omega Supreme kept opening fire upon the bots even as he tried stepping on them like micronic insecticons. Jetfire and Jetstorm had merged into Safeguard, thinking they could use the combined strength to turn the tide in their favor but Omega Supreme was a titan compared to them. Even Skyfire found himself drawn into the fight, trying to catch the mech's attention when he focused too long on the others.

"How does it feel to know that the greatest source of the Autobot victory in the Great War will now deliver your annihilation?" the feared warlord gloated as he attempted step on the oafish green Space Bridge engineer only to fail as the twin seekers flew low and tackled him to safety.

Bulkhead shuddered his optics as he heard the titan stomp past them. "And I thought the Headmaster was bad news," he muttered to himself.

Megatron reached down and was about to rip up some pipes on the ground but pulled back when two bots suddenly appeared out of thin air. It was the black/dark purple seeker and the femme that claimed not to be an Autobot. "You," he sneered and reached down for them.

"I surrender!" the cowardly mech screamed loudly, throwing his servos to cover his helm.

Psyche growled herself and grabbing the seeker by a wing, yanked him to the side, both of them hitting the ground as the massive clawed servo ripped up the pipes they had been standing on. "Why can't he stay lost?" she muttered bitterly as she got up onto her peds, pulling Skywarp up as well.

The acting Prime looked around before spotting a large drainage pipe off to the side. _::Autobots! Quickly, follow me!::_ he commed to them even as he began running towards it. The twins and the shuttle were busy distracting Megatron as the others ran for safety, watching as he kept opening fire on anything that moved. Venting heavily, he turned to the femme who wasn't attempting to pry the whimpering mech off her stabilizer. "How on Cybertron did you get here so quickly?" he hissed lowly.

"Warp drive," she said simply. "We didn't have time to spare, but what I wanna know is how did Megatron get ahold of Omega Supreme? I thought they had all been pulled into that malfunctioning Space Bridge."

"They did, but I guess the transwarp energies managed to send them all to the same location," Bulkhead said with a shrug. "The odds of that happening is impossible, though."

"Then somebot better tell him that," she vented, planting her available servo on her pelvic plating. She looked at the opening of the drainage pipe to watch as the fliers landed and ran into the drainage pipe to join them. "Everybot alright?"

"Yes and no," the shuttle said, ignoring the sting of some of his still healing injuries. "Megatron has full access to Omega Supreme's weapons as well as his ability to transform. Even combined I'm afraid we won't be able to stop him."

"Bad bot is going now to organic cityscape," Jetstorm pointed out and the group watched as sure enough, Megatron was steering the massive titan towards the populated downtown. "Orders being, Sentinel Prime, sir?"

It was on the tip of his glossia to demand what he meant by that but Optimus was still down and out. He still didn't like this overly organic planet, but he couldn't let the leader of the Decepticons lay waste to it either. "... we have to bring down Omega Supreme," he told them. "By any means necessary." No one as sure what to say but they all knew there was no other way. "But first, we need to somehow get Megatron's attention back on us and try to lure him away from the organics."

Psyche was silent, but she knew if anything happened to the giant warship Ratchet would never forgive them or himself. Silently she opened up a private comm link to the medic and quickly asked, _::Ratchet, is there a way to sever the hold Megatron has on Omega?::_

 _::I doubt he'll let you get close enough to remove the hardline he's set up, but if you can reach his personality programming he might be able to fight for control and override the hardline.::_ He paused as he picked up the data pad detailing his old friend's schematics. _::But you yourself need to set up a hardline connection directly into Omega's processor in order for that to work.::_

 _::Which means finding a way inside.::_ No way in the Pitt was the warlord going to open the door even if she asked nicely, but luckily she had something to help her get inside. _::Ratchet, in case this doesn't work—bring Optimus out of stasis. You bots are going to need all the help you can get.::_

 _::But-!::_

Quickly cutting off the comm link Psyche turned to the seeker who was still clinging to her like a frightened sparkling. "Skywarp, I need one last favor from you."

As the femme explained her plans to the seeker, the Autobots had managed to get Megatron's attention and were now leading him away from New Detroit but to keep him from using Omega's targeting systems, they took to the river; including the fliers.

Megatron growled to himself, "The moisture on this infernal organic planet is interfering with their energy signatures." But it didn't stop him from following them into the river or opening fire, knowing that sooner or later they would reveal themselves.

"So now what? We can't stay underwater forever," Bulkhead said as they continued swerving, avoiding the laser fire and being trampled on.

"If we can take out his peds, it'll bring him closer to our level. Then, we go for an all-out attack," Sentinel said a bit bitterly.

"But, grumpy med bot is saying ship is being friend," Jetstorm reminded them even as he and his twin stopped and transformed.

"I know that!" the Prime snapped as he stopped and transformed as well, prompting the others to do the same. "But unless you have a better idea there's nothing else we can do-wait. Where's Psyche and that seeker?"

Flying low as he could, the black and dark purple mech was so nervous he felt like he was going to start warping randomly in order to escape but managed to hold on tightly to the urge. He glanced at the aqua blue femme he was carrying. "A-are you sure this will work?"

"Do you really wanna know?" He immediately shook his helm. "Thought so. On my count. One… two… three!" Squeezing his servo tightly there was a small flash of light followed by a sound of air being displaced but the two vanished only to appear within the transformed warship itself.

"Are we offlined?" the seeker asked, having offlined his own optics just in case his teleporting didn't work. But they quickly snapped open when he heard a loud blaring alarm around him. He barely had time to cry out as a pair of pincers suddenly grabbed him about his mid-section.

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"

 _'_ _I don't have time for this!'_ Immediately taking out her hammer, the neutral femme destroyed the security measures, freeing the seeker. "Teleport outta here! I can do the rest alone!" Skywarp didn't waste a precious astrosecond and warped out of Omega and right in front of a very surprised Ratchet.

"What the slag!? What are you doing here?!" he demanded.

"I—the f-femme—warped—scared!"

"Psyche?" Looking around there was no sign of her and the veteran began to worry. "Where is she?" The seeker began to tremble but the medic had enough and quickly gripped the terrified mech by his upper stabilizers, ignoring the way the red optics widened in fear as he leaned in close. "Where the slag is she?!" The seeker could only look outside in the direction where Omega Supreme was still opening fire on the still hidden Autobots.

Inside the warship Psyche was battling her way past the security measures, ignoring the way some of her gears groaned until she reached the spark chamber. Closing the door behind her she took a moment to vent and subspaced her hammer.

"I only have one chance at this, so I better make it count." Walking up to the console she withdrew a data cable from the back of her helm and plugged it in. Almost immediately her frame went still and she found herself being drawn into the much larger mech's processor. She found that her own processor had created a digital avatar of herself in an aqua blue color. "Omega Supreme, my designation is Psyche and I'm a friend of Ratchet's." She looked around but couldn't find the mech himself. "Listen, I'm connected to your internal processor and I'm here to help you." Before her optics digital blocks were coming together, creating another digital avatar but not the one she was hoping to see.

"Unfortunately for you, Autobot. I am here, as well."

"Scrap."

The digital Megatron didn't waste any time in throwing himself at her, destroying the block of programming she had been standing on. Psyche herself knew she was no match for the Decepticon but she wasn't going to give up so easily.

"Omega, listen to my vocalizer! I know you don't want to hurt the Autobots, you never wanted to be part of this war and I don't blame you. But I need you to fight!" she called out, hoping he was able to hear her.

"Do not think you will succeed. Your warship is under my command," the war mongrel smirked as he continued chasing after her, destroying anything that got in his way. "As soon as we return to Cybertron, I will use it to claim the planet as my own."

"Ultra Magnus will stop you! And so will I!" Pushing herself off a block, she lunged at the larger mech, a version of the Magnus Hammer materializing in her servos she wasted no time in swinging it, catching the mech by surprise as it connected. But he recovered faster than she expected and cried out in pain as a large servo quickly grabbed her by her neck cables, tightening little by little. Her physical frame was trembling as her processor tried fighting off the other, trying to break free but unable too.

"You have failed, little Autobot."

"O-Omega, pleas-se! Only-together c-can we re-sist Me-Mega-tron's-control!" she managed to force out, struggling against the tight servo. Just when she thought she had truly failed, the black servo immediately released her and she watched as the warlord fell back.

His darkly colored avatar was rapidly being overwhelmed by a shimmering gold program, taking over regardless how hard he struggled to fight it. It soon enveloped him completely and the program took the avatar of its original program.

"I AM OMEGA SUPREME!

Megatron cried out in pain as his processor was forcefully booted from the ship's hard drive, bringing him back up onto the command deck. He thought he had subdued the titan completely but as he felt the mech go still he growled to himself. "I will destroy that meddlesome femme with my own two servos," he said darkly as he went in search of the accursed bot.

"Uhh what just happened?" No one knew how to answer Bulkhead's question but seeing the image of Omega Supreme's faceplate on the visor as a very good indication that Megatron was no longer in control. but before they could celebrate, they were taken back at the titan let out a low groan of pain and the screen turned to static.

"What's going on?" Sentinel demanded but no one had an answer.

"Omega! What's happening?" Psyche asked in great concern, watching at the digital avatar of the warship appeared to be breaking apart.

"I-I'm sorry. But there is another processor attempting to take over."

"But there's no one else here!"

"I-" Whatever he was going to say was lost as the gold-colored avatar exploded, only to be replaced with a red-violet digital image with wings.

"Now _I'm_ the one in control!" Starscream sneered with a large grin. His smirking faceplates appeared on the screen and once they settled on the Elite Guards, he began opening fire all the while laughing like a crazed glitch.

"Starscream, what are you doing?! Those are Bumblebee's friends!" the femme shouted at him but she let out a cry of pain as she was forcefully booted from the ship's processor. Back in her own frame she struggled to remain standing but it didn't last long as a large servo gripped her from behind and slammed her into the wall, soon followed by a fist nearly the size of her helm striking her in the middle of her chassis. Her plating was nearly caved in and she tried to defend herself against another strike but this time the same servo grabbed her roughly by the faceplates and slammed the back of her helm into the wall. A sickening crack was heard but it would be much much later that she would realize it was the sound of her plating beginning to split open. Her HUD filled with warning and multiple error readings but she fought them down even as she weakly tried prying the digits off.

"Autobot or not, I will enjoy watching as your spark is extinguished," Megatron rumbled darkly, pulling his other servo back he was prepared to smash her chassis open so he could crush her spark when something sharp struck him in the back of his upper stabilizer, causing him to lose all function. The femme dropped from his numb servo and the warlord turned in time to see a blue ped kick him across the small room. He stumbled back, catching himself from hitting the floor but glared at his new opponent with burning red optics.

Optimus matched the look of hatred with his own cold fury blazing from his blue optics. "Don't think for one klik I'm going to stand by and let you hurt those I care about."

"... So it would seem we are destined to battle aboard this ship once again, Autobot." Calmly getting to his peds, the war machine calmly removed the energy axe from where it had cut into the back of his shoulder joint and threw it back at the young Prime. Optimus effortlessly caught his cherished weapon and made sure he was standing before the injured femme.

"Bring it, Decepticon."

As the two mechs fought, throwing each other off and trying to pummel the other while they were down, Skywarp peered into the room and quietly made his way to the femme. He was running low on energy, having gone through more than half his reserves, he knew he would only be able to warp one last time before he was done. "Psyche… c-can you move?" he asked but her blue-green optics were shorting out and she was unable to say or do anything. He didn't like the look of energon smeared behind her helm but she was in desperate need of the medic; reaching out, he carefully pulled her to his chassis and held her close, slipping a servo beneath her stabilizers as he got to his own peds. Offlining his optics he made to concentrate to teleport them out but froze when he heard a shout and turned to the source.

Megatron lifted the Prime over his helm as though he weighed nothing, even with one servo twitching as his self-repair tried connecting the cut wires to his motion relays. "I will destroy you all and once more take control of your precious ship," he growled and with a grunt, threw the other mech into the wall, watching him crumple to the floor. But as he moved to eliminate him once and for all the ship began moving once more, causing him to stumble slightly. He finally noticed the seeker and smirked at the terrified look in his optics. "So, you survived after all."

 _'_ _Not good! Not good not good not good!'_ Skywarp thought frantically, tightening his hold over the femme even as he pressed his backplates to the wall as tightly as he could. He tried looking for the door but he choked back the whimper of fear when he realized it had been locked, meaning he was trapped.

"Tell me seeker, if you are here does that mean the Autobot carrier is somewhere close by?" the Decepticon leader asked as he slowly stalked closer, digits flexing as sensors began clicking online.

Wings twitched even as optics narrowed, a warning growl threatening to break free. "Like I'll tell you," he said lowly, feeling a surge of protectiveness coursing through his systems.

"Is that so?" He had heard about seekers and their program to be highly protective of carriers and sparklings, it was one of the things that made them so feared even before the war. "Starscream may have sparked that minibot, but I do wonder if you or the others imagine being the sire of an innocent spark." His smirk grew as the wings twitched sharply, scrapping along the wall. "I imagine the sparkling will emerge soon, so I wonder, which one of you will be the one to claim him next?"

Claim? No, Bumblebee was a friend, not some sort of prize to be given to the winner! But, to have the carrier as his sparkmate, to care for him and watch a sparkling they created grow, to be there for the emergence and hold it for the first time—no! What in Primus was he thinking?! Skywarp forced the dark desires away but they had distracted him just enough for the fearsome mech to strike him down. Pain exploded across his sensory network and he couldn't suppress the scream of pain. Sparks danced along torn plating as the energy axe was removed, energon and oil spilling freely from where the weapon had been driven through. One of his wings had also been damaged so even if he could transform, there was no way he would be able to fly to safety.

"Pity you will not survive long enough to watch me claim the carrier as my own, but I will ensure any sparklings he carries will belong solely to me." Megatron lifted the stolen weapon from the Prime over his helm, ready to bring it down and end the miserable existence of both the cowardly seeker and nuisance femme in one swing but a grappling line shot out, wrapped around his servos and pulled hard enough that he stumbled onto a stabilizing joint. He growled at the Autobot even as he struggled to regain his stance. "What are you doing?!"

Optimus refused to give him a single mechanometer of space as he continued to pull as hard as he could. "G-Get outta here!" he yelled at Skywarp, ignoring the strain and pressure he was forcing on his own gears. He wouldn't be able to hold off the warlord for too much longer but hopefully it would be enough for the two to escape.

"W-What?" Escape? The seeker's HUD was rapidly showing errors and diagnostic reports, warning of an impending stasis if he didn't seek medical assistance soon. But, surely he had enough energy to get the three of them out of here-!

"Now, Skywarp! That's an order!" the Prime yelled at him as he dug his peds into the floor, ignoring the pain as his upper struts were nearly torn free from their sockets. Said seeker flinched but firming his resolve, concentrated and soon the two disappeared into thin air just as the security panels slid open and pincers emerged, ensnaring both battling bots tightly.

"I'm the one calling the shots! I'm the one in complete control!" Starscream shouted for everyone to hear as he continued opening fire on the Autobots below. "No one will take my mate and sparkling away from me, and if I have to destroy all of you to protect them then I will!"

"Damn bot's gone insane!" Ratchet said as he ran and dodged to avoid getting shot at. When Psyche had cut her comm link with him earlier he knew what she had planned and despite his medical programming, brought Optimus out of medical stasis. He didn't have time to give the Prime the complete story, just that everyone needed their help. The two Autobots and one still terrified seeker headed to where the others were at just in time to see Starscream taking control of Omega and using his weapons' systems. Only quick thinking on Optimus' part to have Skyarp warp the two of them into the titan like Psyche had done earlier would hopefully assist the neutral and possibly bring Omega back online. The medic looked to the side when he saw a brief flash of light followed by a popping sound he had associated with the warping mech and felt his optics widen at the damaged state he and his passenger were in. "What the frag happened?!" he demanded even as he turned his attention to them, thankful for the outcropping of rubble they were all currently hiding behind.

"M-Megat-tron," Skywarp growled in pain, ignoring the pain of his backplates scratching the rubble as he fell to his aft. "Ne-Nevermind me. She needs-s your help more," he hissed, jerking slightly when the medic tried reaching for his wing. Ratchet wordlessly took one look at the critically injured femme and began working as fast as he could.

Back within the spaceship, Megatron was attempting to break free of the internal defense systems but the more he struggled the tighter the pincers became. He had no weapons (he had dropped the axe moments ago) save for his own two servos, and one of them was not at full capacity but glaring at the Autobot he smirked when he saw he had been easily subdued. "Excellent work, Starcream. Together we will crush all those who would stand in our way," he called out, knowing his traitorous SIC was listening.

"Who said anything about us?" the seeker said coldly, causing the pincers to tighten around the warlord and making him grunt in discomfort. "I seem to recall you threatening to offline my unborn sparkling and force my mate to carry for you. Did you think I would have forgotten, oh mighty Megatron!?" he sneered angrily. "I am in control and I will give Bumblebee everything he could ever dream off!"

"What about Cybertron?"

"... come again?"

"Even if you destroy the Autobots here, more will come to investigate the disappearance of their mechs. Once the Autobot High Council finds out what has happened, what do you think they will do with your precious mate?" The large grey helicopter smirked as he could almost see the gears turning in the seeker's helm as he processed the information. "Why, instead of waiting for them to come to us, we could go to Cybteron ourselves and eliminate them all, leaving the planet to the rule of Decepticons everywhere."

"Yes… yes. Yes! I can give him Cybertron and he will never have anything to fear! Why, it's such an ingenious plan. I'm so glad I thought of it myself," he smirked. But despite being hotwired into the ship's console, the seeker was having a difficult time trying to activate Omega's transformation sequence. "Why the slag won't this piece of scrap transform?!" he shrieked in frustration.

 _'_ _I-I have to do something, before it too late!'_ the downed Autobot thought to himself but what? Even if he managed to break free Starscream would stop him before he could reach the command deck, and with the warp drive they could be back within Cybertron's orbit before he could shudder an optic. But first, under the guise of being trapped, slowly began to retract his grappling line as it dragged his energy axe closer to his servo.

Time was rapidly running out for the Autobots, they had nearly expended all their energy into trying to stop the Decepticon-controlled titan but nothing worked. Ratchet was trying to stabilize Psyche's damage, fighting the video feedback that threaten to overtake his processor. He had so many bots during the war, he was even beginning to doubt himself and his abilities.

 _'_ _I-I can't…'_

"R-Ratchet…"

"Wha-Omega Supreme?" The medic looked up sharply and stepped out from where he had been sheltered, looking up at the titan. The visual screen was flickering back and forth between faceplates, as though fighting for control. "Omega! You have to keep fighting! I know you can do it!"

"Starscream's to-too powerful;" the much larger transformer twitched as he narrowly missed stepping on said medic, struggling to regain some control over his systems. "Please, shut me down! I-I want to sleep again!"

The red and white mech knew what he meant and looked down at where his EMP generator was safely tucked away. "I… I already had to use this thing once too many things, especially when I didn't want to. Please… don't make me use it again."

"We do what we must, even if it sometimes doesn't make sense."

"..." He really didn't want to do this, but if it meant saving his oldest friend, so be it. Getting to his peds, Ratchet released the magnetic devices and upped the charge to its maximum. "… forgive me, old friend." He let the powerful charge loose on the warship and watched with halted vents as it struck Omega directly in the chassis, the power dying out shortly but for several tense moment, nothing happened. Had it worked? Had the powerful EMP burst send the gentle giant back into stasis? Unfortunately, the sound of thrusters activating was their answer and the bots below could only watch in horror as it transformed back into the spaceship.

"About fragging time!" Starscreeam muttered to himself as he gained control and began heading for the Earth's atmosphere. "Now, to Cybertron!"

"If Starcream manages to use Omega Supreme's TransWarp system, Cybertron won't have a chance to stop him," Sentinel called out, now at a complete loss of what to do. How in Primus' designation were they going to catch up to him much less stop him?

"Hold on, doesn't Omega use the same technology to traswarp like the Space Bridge?"

"Of course, he does! But what has that got to do with-" The words died on Ratchet's glossia as he watched Bulkhead rummage in his subspace before pulling out a large piece of Cybertronium technology he was not expecting. "Where did you get a plasma dynamic thruster?!"

"Long story but I promise I'll tell you later! We gotta get it up there before he takes off!"

"I is taking it, green bulky one!" Jetstorm said and without waiting for an order, grabbed said item and immediately took to the air, thrusters igniting in full power even as he chased after the much larger warship.

"I is helping!" Before anyone could stop him, Jetfire also took off into the air after his twin. Both ignored the worried shouts coming from the others below, pushing their engines as hard as they could. This would require all the training and skilled they had learned since they were repaired and brought into the ranks of the Elite Guard, and they knew that they would not fail.

Inside the ship Starscream was rapidly losing his patience with maneuvering the massive titan, already missing his own sleeker (and much more attractive frame) as well as yelling at Megatron to shut his derma plating before he made him.

"At this rate Cybertron will be nothing but a planet of rust," the warlord growled lowly.

"HA! Like you were any better! At least I was able to get it to transform into a function spaceship!" the dismembered helm taunted.

"Then why are we are moving slower than a space slug?"

"I-shut up!"

The young Prime flinched from the unholy shriek but it didn't stop him from wrapping his digits around the handle of his axe. Whether the two Decepticons realized it or not, the large pincers were slowly losing their tight grip they had on him but he continued with the illusion that he was still trapped. Scenarios filled his processor, such as deciding which of the two to take out but he quickly push those behind him. Megatron was easily stronger than him and at full power he still had difficulty bringing him down by himself. And if he went after Starscream that would leave him open for a sneak attack. No, his best option was to escape and try to find a way to keep them from leaving this solar system.

 _'_ _But first, I need to get out of here.'_ His chance came when the gunmetal grey mech insulted the seeker one more and said helm let out another shriek, the pincers tightening around the tyrant who let out a grunt of discomfort did the Autobot move. Activating the energy blade, he swung the weapon behind him and severed the limb, freeing himself.

"What the-" Crimson optics widen and the frameless seeker let out a rather embarrassing squawk of surprise and pain as the pincers that had been used to ensnare the leader of the Autobots thrown in his direction, knocking him off the console. Through cracked optic lens he watched as said Autobot ran out the door and glared at the other mech. "Why didn't you stop him?!"

Sometimes he really wondered why, why did he pick this glitch to be his SIC? "And how do you propose I do that?" he asked coolly, still trapped where he stood.

"Don't start with me, mech!"

Optimus ran down the corridor as fast as his peds could take him, using the walls for balance when he felt the ship shift before righting itself. Unfortunately, it seemed that he wasn't able to break whatever connection Starscream had over Omega Supreme but he had to figure out a way to stop him from getting away.

 _'_ _But I should really get outta here, first!'_ Bringing up the layout of the ship from his memory banks he raced to the door and input the access door. Of course the systems locked him out but it dind't stop him from wedging his axe into the seam and prying it open. He clung to the frame tightly as he was nearly pulled outside where despite being composed of mostly metal, he doubt he would survive such a fall. "Now what?" he said to himself.

"Optimus Prime, sir!"

Optimus looked up, his audio receivers barely picking up his designation being shouted and looked down to see the jettwins flying below the ship. He was about to shout at them when he saw one of them holding something in his servos.

"Catch, Prime sir!" Jetstorm threw the device as hard as he could, aiming for the Prime but he grinned as he saw him lean out and manage to catch it.

"Be using transwarp thing to stopping screaming one!" Jetfire yelled out.

"Wait, what does that mean?" he called out but the red and blue mech found himself clinging to the door frame as the ship gave another lurch and he almost found himself falling out. The twins were forced to back off least they got spotted themselves or knocked out of the sky. Optimus blinked at the device in his servo began to hum and gave off an energy signal he remembered all too well. "Transwarp energy," he murmured and suddenly everything seemed to click into place. The only problem that remained was where could he hide it to keep the Decepticons from getting their greedy servos on it? The ship gave another lurch and he could see the ground was rapidly growing farther and farther away as the ship continued to gain altitude. 'There's no other way.' Bracing himself for the worse, the Prime leaned out as far as he could and tossed the still glowing plasma dynamic thruster into one of Omega's vents and released the grip he had on the frame. Even falling to what he was certain would be the end of him he saw the ship being encased in the energy field of transwarp energy before it disappeared from sight, the insane cackle of Starscream echoing in the skies for all to hear.

Down below the Autobots could only watch with disbelief as they saw the form of their friend falling much too rapidly towards the ground. They knew they had to do something but there was no way to catch him safely. Even the jettwins had transformed into their altmode and were flying towards him as fast as they could, hoping to save him but they would never make it in time. However, the white and red medic was not going to lose another friend to this Primus-forsaken war, not as long as his spark continued to pulse within his chassis.

Ignoring the warning levels he upped the strength of his magnets as high as he could and aimed it for the falling Prime. At first it didn't seem to be working but the plummeting was beginning to slow down his rapid descent, not as much as the medic would have liked but enough for the merged form of Safeguard to catch the Prime right out of the sky. Once he was in safe servos Ratchet cut the power and sagged down to his joints.

"Ya did it, doc bot!" Bulkhead said excitedly, nearly bowing the veteran over in a rather enthusiastic hug. Normally the CMO would have smacked the gentle wrecker about the helm and yell at him for acting like a giant sparkling but he was just too slagging tired.

Optimus honestly thought he was going to be one with the AllSpark but his friends had come through, once more proving that they were all more than worthy of being called Autobots and they were the best friends a mech could ask for. And as frightening as it had been falling, there was a pleasant sensation as he felt the wind against his plating as the blue/yellow jet flew through the air, circling around to rejoin the others.

"Someday I really have to learn how to fly," he said to himself.

* * *

"I see, I will tell Bumblebee the news but please let me know about Psyche and Skywarp's recovery as soon as possible," Prowl said with a slight nod of his helm.

"I promise. Let us if know if you need anything," Optimus said as he nodded back. "Optimus, out." The communication screen went blank and the Cyber Ninja silently left the console. Since escorting the minibot back to the caves he was meet with the anxious looks of the seekers who had no doubt felt Skywarp's own anxiety over the bond they shared and explained the situation. Of course, bumblebee wanted to help and was not happy that he couldn't but they did not want to risk leaving him alone either. Coming up to the room the slender mech paused before lifting his servo and knocking.

"Bumblebee? It's prowl. May… May I come in?" There was no answer but the door slid open and the ninja entered, letting the door close behind him.

The yellow mech was sitting against the head of his berth, being supported by the numerous pillows. He didn't look up at the ninja as he entered or even as he came closer, giving a non-verbal grunt when he asked if he could sit. The only sound in the room was the music coming from the handheld game he was playing.

"… The others were able to save New Detroit from being destroyed, although Megatron and Starscream managed to escape. But apparently Bulkhead found a working plasma thruster that enables transwarp energy and Optimus was able to secure it onto Omega Supreme," he began to explain.

"So what, they're gonna be warping all over the galaxy with no way to stop?" the carrier mumbled, never looking up from the tiny screen.

"Y-Yes, I believe so. You know what it does?"

"Bulkhead likes talking about Space Bridge stuff, I don't understand most of what he says but it makes him happy."

Prowl said nothing but he could tell that the smaller mech was not happy. "Bumblebee, I know you wanted to help but no one wanted to risk you or your sparkling. We were trying to protect you."

"Right, because I'm just a minibot that makes me weaker, slower. Dumber than everybot else," he said bitterly. "The only thing I'm good for is being a carrier only to get sparked up by a Decepticon."

"That's not true!"

"Oh yeah? Not even the mech who sparked me up is here, doesn't care about me of his sparkling." He finally tore his optics off the portable game and looked at the ninja with narrowed optics. "Just admit it! I'm useless! I can't fight like you and Optimus! I'm not smart like Bulkhead and Ratchet! Even Sari's faster than me! So just tell me I'm worthless!"

You are not worthless and you never were!" Prowl snapped and he couldn't help but reach out and grab the smaller mech by his upper stabilizers, forcing him to look at him. "You are—stubborn. Prideful. You know how to make me lose my patience in less than a klik. And I can't help but feel my spark yearn for yours. I would do anything for you and your sparkling, regardless of its coding."

"P-prowl? What, are you saying?" Bumblebee asked after a tense moment of silence. The other mech said nothing, looking at him but he watched as he released his servos and slowly reached up to his faceplates, digits gently wiping away the thin trails of optic fluids he was leaking. Slag it all, he was really beginning to hate this "mood swings"! His vents stalled as the ninja leaned in so close he could almost make out the ninja's optics behind his visor.

"I love you." Still moving slowly, the black and gold mech closed the remaining distance and kissed the trembling mech, cradling his helm as though he was made of fragile crystal. He was more than prepared to pull back when he felt the carrier shift but froze as black and yellow-tipped servos reached out and curled around his shoulders, clinging to him tightly. The kiss slowly broke apart but the two were still so close, lip plates slightly parted. "Bee-"

"I love you." Any other time Bumblebee would have smirked proudly at having caught the stoic Cyber Ninja off-guard as he did but instead of gloating, he leaned up and kissed him right back. More oily tears slipped down his faceplates only to be wiped away with a gentle touch. Slagging mood swings. His servos pulled the other mech clos, even as the kiss broke and buried his faceplates into the side of his neck cables, trying to get his frame to stop trembling. "Please, don't leave me alone," he whispered brokenly.

"… I promise, I will never leave you alone." Prowl wordlessly hugged the frame to him as tightly as he could, curling his servos around him as though to protect him from the world. Whether or not the minibot really meant those words or it was due to his carrier coding wreaking havoc on his system, it was too late to take back what he said even if he wanted to. But he meant what he said and he would accept any consequences that came with it.

 **Author's Notes:** Finally! I updated this story! (collapses on floor) Holy moly… I swear, I should be the poster child for procrastination or something! Okay, first I am so sorry for not having updated in… (checks last update) June 2018?!

… that's gotta be a freaking record or something, I swear!

Ugh… I won't bother with the same excuse so I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Yes I pulled out some stuff from the episodes just changed it around. Now lemme just explain some stuff before I log off for the night (or morning in my case):

I took some creative license with Optimus' past, such as his original designation was Orion Pax. He got it changed to Optimus by Kup Minor when he was in Autobot Boot Camp. And I had to refer to some of the TFAnimated comics for the training simulation of Optimus fighting Megatron. I also changed Sentinel's personality a bit since he's forced to stay on Earth a lot longer than he though, he's also forced to see this team in a whole new light. And I gave Ratchet a chance to grieve for the loss of his friend as well as a bit more insight in the relationship between him and Psyche.

Yes I added a bit of a scene between Skywarp and Bumblebee. Why? Well, so far out of all the clones Bee seems to be developing a bond with the cowardly clone but this could be because he turned against his own "creator" to protect Bee and the innocent sparkling several chapters back. Now whether or not this could into something more (shrugs) remains to be scene but it could be possible.

Another possibility, the relationship between Prowl and our loveable yellow minibot. I realize I haven't done as much interaction between them as I would have liked so while writing this I thought "Why not put in a scene?" I'm not really sure where I was going with the last scene but I know mood swings hit hard and bee already suffers from cases of self-dubt so being told he can't help his friends hit him much harder than he thought and it kinda spiraled from there. Though prowl finally took Psyche's advice to heart-er, spark and admitted his feelings.

BTW, for those of you that are concern (or care) Psyche is not dead. She still had a role to play but for the sake of not turning her into some glorified-all-powerful-Primus-chosen-Mary-Sue I needed to show she is still just a normal bot. So yeah, I had Megatron beat the living slag outta her (scratches side of neck) I tend to abuse my OCs like that. But she'll recover and yes so will Skywarp.

Oh yes before I forget, the line that Psyche uses is actually part of a beautiful and touching poem I found online. It talks about bullying and having gone through that growing up and even now as an adult, I wanted to pass this alone to you all to please share with others. Please excuse the spaces as this site seems to eat links: familyfriendpoems poem / shouldve-couldve-wouldve (or look up the poem "Should've, Could've, Would've" by Emily Greenlee).

I would also like to thank those who have stayed with me since I first started this story, and wish I could do more for those that are still with me. I will try to publish another chapter soon and would like to remind you that you are more than welcome to send me a private message eve if its to ask if I'm still alive. What I can give you is a bit of a surprise for the next chapter: Bumblebee's sparkling is going to be making her first appearance in the story and I already have a name picked out for her. I can't wait for it to happen!


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